Performance Based Assessment - Assessment Info – SchoolCity

This article walks through the first step of the process for creating a Performance Based Assessment, the Assessment Info page. This assessment format allows staff members to set up an online scoring grid for a performance based assessment that students complete externally. It may be aligned to content standards, and can include Assessment Objectives, or sub-scores.

Where to Start

From the top navigation menu, select the Assessments tile.

An example Manage Assessments page, with Create Assessment labeled as step 2, and Performance Based labeled as step 3.

Select Create Assessment.
From the dropdown menu, select Performance Based.

Assessment Info Screen

Note the breadcrumb arrow links for the different assessment setup screens. As each step is completed, it will be denoted in the breadcrumb with a green check, which serves as a visual cue of progress. The current step will be highlighted in green.

An assessment cannot be published until all steps in the breadcrumb are checked. If you do not plan to include Performance Levels for your assessment, you can do so, but you must cycle through all the Setup steps and select the Next button on the Performance Level screen to register the breadcrumb green check prior to publishing your assessment.

An example Performance Based Assessment Info page, with the Year labeled as step 4, Tag Assessment labeled as step 5, Assessment Name labeled as step 6, Subject labeled as step 7, Existing Collection labeled as step 8, PLC labeled as step 9, Include Standards labeled as step 10, Include Notes labeled as step 11, Include Assessment Objectives labeled as step 12, and Enter Rubric labeled as step 13.

The new assessment defaults to the school Year as set in My Preferences. To change the year, select the current year and select the desired year from the dropdown.
(Optional) Select Tag Assessments to attach tags to the assessment for easier search capability within the Manage Assessments module.
Enter the Assessment Name.
- The assessment name must be unique, and should be clear to you and other users who you may choose to share your assessment with.
Select the Subject from the dropdown menu.
(Optional) Select an Existing Collection to add the assessment to, if desired.
(Optional) Select a PLC to filter the student population. If a PLC is selected, Student Selection is based on the students rostered to the collective PLC.
Use the toggle to enable or disable Include Standards.
- Enabling Include Standards allows for the assessment to be aligned to content standards. Once enabled, a Standards step is added to the assessment setup breadcrumb trail.
Select the desired Include Notes option.
- No Notes: Users will not be able to enter notes for individual students in the Performance Based assessment score entry screen.
- Notes with Scores: Users will be able to enter notes for individual students alongside scores in the Performance Based assessment score entry screen. The notes will be fore teacher use only, and will not be available to students. 3000 characters max.
- Notes Only Assessment: Users will only be able to enter notes for individual students in the Performance Based assessment score entry screen. The notes will be for teacher use only, and will not be available to students. 3000 characters max.
Use the toggle to enable or disable Include Assessment Objectives.
- Enabling Include Assessment Objectives allows the creation of one or more objectives, or sub-scores. Once enabled, an Objectives step is added to the assessment setup breadcrumb trail, and the rubric and score options are transferred to that Objectives step.
Use the toggle to enable or disable Enter Rubric.
- If enabled, the rubric can be created from scratch, an existing PDF rubric can be uploaded from your device, or an existing rubric can be selected from the list of Available Teacher Rubrics.

An example Performance Based Assessment Info screen, with Score Label labeled as step 14, Score Type labeled as step 15, Value labeled as step 16, Setup for Multiple Assessment Grade(s) labeled as step 17, and Student Selection labeled as step 18.

Select a Score Label for the assessment.
- The default dropdown menu options include Raw Score, Percent Correct, Scale Score, and Performance Level. Select Create New to create a new label, which is then added to the dropdown.
- The chosen Score Label affects the score value options that appear below.
Select a Score Type for the assessment. Three Score Types are available:
- Numeric: Allows numerical scores to be entered in a range, or chosen from selected values.
- Alpha: Allows single alpha characters to be entered in a range.
- List: Allows users to create a list of customized score items; e.g., phrases such as "Approaches Mastery."
Select the desired Value options, dependent on the chosen Score Label and Score Type. Possible Value options include:
- Range: Allows users to enter a score within the chosen range of positive whole numbers (or other relevant character). Enter the minimum and maximum score of the range. Select Prevent Decimal Entry to allow only whole numbers to be entered during scoring.
- Selected Values: Allows users to select a score from a given list of values. When selected, the assessment author is provided a dropdown menu from which to select the desired values to be offered during scoring.
Use the toggle to enable or disable Setup for Multiple Assessment Grade(s).
Choose the Student Selection to schedule the assessment to.

Setup for Multiple Assessment Grades

The Setup for Multiple Assessment Grades feature allows users to combine unique grade level assessments (i.e., grade level tests with a variance in the number of items or total points possible) into a single, multi-grade assessment. Note, this selection is not necessary for course-based assessments. If this option is selected, each grade level will require its own answer key, and answer sheets will need to be printed separately for each grade level.

Toggle Setup for Multiple Assessment Grade(s) to Yes.
- A confirmation will appear, giving details on what this function is. Select OK to continue.
Select the Assessment Grade(s) for the assessment.
A Student Selection generates for each grade selected in the previous step. Make a scheduling selection for each grade.

Student Selection Options

Schedule All Students to Take This Assessment

This option schedules the assessment to all students within the purview of the assessment author user. If you are a teacher-level user, then "all students" encompasses all the students on your roster(s). If you are a school-level user, then "all students" encompasses all rostered students at your school site. If you are a district-level user, then "all students" encompasses all students across the district.

Schedule Students by Grade Level

This option schedules the assessment to all students within a specific grade or grades. Select the checkboxes for the desired grades to be scheduled.

Schedule Students by Course Group or Course

This option schedules the assessment to all students within a specific Course Group, as created in the Group Manager, or rostered to a specific Course. Select the desired Course Group or Course from the appropriate dropdown to schedule.

Include All Rostered Students' Teachers for Assessment Administration

When students are scheduled by Course Group or Course, by default, only users who teach the selected Course have the ability to administer the assessment to the included students. Selecting Include all rostered students' teachers for assessment administration allows any of a selected students' teachers to administer the assessment, even those not teaching the selected Course.

Note that:

Only students rostered under the selected Course can take the assessment.
Only teachers rostered with students under the selected Course can administer the assessment.
Teachers outside of the selected Course cannot administer to any scheduled student, only their rostered students.
Teachers outside of the selected Course administering the assessment do not appear on related reports; only the selected Course teachers appear on reports.
This option is only available for School, Network, and District level assessments.

This feature can be useful in multiple scenarios. For example:

Student Jordan missed school on the Monday of their Science test. Tuesday morning, their Homeroom teacher administers that Science test for Jordan to make up.
Student Ari receives pull-out instruction for SPED, and needs to take a short, weekly evaluation related to that instruction. His History teacher administers this evaluation every Thursday afternoon during in-class homework time.
Student Kylie has been out sick, and the SAT deadline is approaching fast. To ensure that she can begin applying to colleges, her Physical Education teacher administers the reading portion of the SAT, and her Physics teacher administers the math portion of the SAT during the next period.

Schedule Students by Student Group

This option schedules the assessment to all students within a specific Student Group, as created in the Group Manager. Select the desired Student Group from the appropriate dropdown to schedule.

Save/Next

Select Save if you are done with your selections on the Assessment Info screen, and wish to exit the system to return later. Or, select Next to proceed to the next step, and your work will automatically be saved.

Next Steps

Take a look at the Performance Based Assessment - Standards, Performance Based Assessment - Objectives, and Performance Based Assessment - Performance Levels articles to learn more about the next steps in creating a Performance Based assessment.