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Assess Your Students Using Projects and Performance
by Dr. Barbara Blackburn
Published via
Middleweb : June 20, 2018
Performance-based assessments are a type of summative assessment, but they differ from traditional testing. They are focused on students performing in some manner to demonstrate their understanding. Typically, performance-based assessments are more rigorous, because students must go in-depth to complete the performance, project, or portfolio.
Communicating with Parents and Families About Assessment
by Dr Barbara Blackburn
Published via Share My Lesson : April 6, 2026
When I think of communication with parents and families about assessment, I’ve learned that it’s a two-way street with several key aspects. Let’s look at communicating to parents and families, communication with parents and families, and communication from parents and families.
Eight Essentials of Good Student Feedback
by Dr. Barbara Blackburn
Published via Middleweb : January 21, 2015
Feedback is an essential component of meaningful assessment, whether we offer it in a formal presentation, or informally in our daily interactions with students.
Whether you provide it orally or in written form – in a sit-down meeting or during a busy classroom activity – good feedback is crucial for students to continuously improve their work.
Eight Flexible Strategies for Formative Assessment
by Dr. Barbara Blackburn
Published via Middleweb : March 13, 2018
I strongly believe that if we are going to truly support our students to higher levels of success and achievement, we must continually assess their learning in our everyday classroom settings – and use that information to plan our future instruction. How do we do that? Let’s take a look at some ideas.
Eight Strategies to Quickly Assess Prior Knowledge
by Dr. Barbara Blackburn
Published via Middleweb : December 31, 2024
Prior to teaching your lesson, it’s important to gauge where students are in their knowledge of the topic. We are going to look at eight simple strategies you can use to assess students before you design and carry out your lesson plan.
Formative Assessment Fuels k-12 Growth
by Dr. Barbara Blackburn
Published via Share My Lesson : March 11, 2025
Formative assessment is a hot topic, one that is regularly discussed in schools across the nation. Consider how formative assessment fits into the instructional process. I’ve found it is used before, during and after teaching, and is used so you can adjust your instruction.
Four Simple Strategies for Student Self-Assessment
by Dr. Barbara Blackburn
Published via Middleweb : December 21, 2025
As a part of our overall classroom assessment, we want students asking themselves questions for self-assessment.
Why? Encouraging students to assess themselves adds some extra rigor to the learning process. It’s a better move than the teacher providing all the assessment – it calls on them to use metacognition, Self-assessment in the classroom also helps them develop a habit that will serve them throughout their lives.
Four Simple Ways We Can Pre-Assess Students
by Dr. Barbara Blackburn
Published via Middleweb : October 12, 2025
Prior to teaching your lesson, it’s important to gauge where students are in their knowledge of the topic. You may discover that students already know all or part of what you are planning to teach, and that may mean adjustments.
Four Strategies for Formative Assessment
by Dr. Barbara Blackburn
Published via edCircuit : May 22, 2019
Formative assessments, which are typically informal, take place throughout the instructional process. They should be administered frequently since they provide an immediate assessment of students’ levels of mastery. However, it is important to provide creative ways for students to demonstrate their knowledge. Let’s look at 4 formative assessments that can be used before, during, and after instruction.
Five Cool Ways for Students to Show What They Know
by Dr. Barbara Blackburn
Published via Middleweb : August 1, 2017
Teachers are always looking for new ideas of how to help students demonstrate their understanding of a concept. After all, students become tired of always writing a paper. Let’s look at 5 creative ways that students can “show you what they know.”
Nine Strategies for Formative Assessment
by Dr. Barbara Blackburn
Published via Share My Lesson : April 23, 2026
Formative assessment is used periodically to check in with students and determine their understanding. It’s designed to inform your instruction so you can make appropriate adjustments as opposed to summative assessment, which provides summary information for grading.
Providing Extra Credit: Positive or Negative?
by Dr. Barbara Blackburn
Published via Middleweb : March 3, 2024
When I was teaching, I struggled with the whole concept of extra credit. Most other teachers offered it, so I did too. But I was never sure if students were doing something valuable. It never seemed to accomplish what I thought it would.
The students who usually earned it didn’t really need it, earning an A plus instead of an A or an A instead of a B. It also seemed to overemphasize points versus learning.
Rigorous Assessment: Not This, But That
by Dr. Barbara Blackburn
Published via edCircuit : July 23, 2019
One of the challenges in today’s schools is raising the level of rigor, particularly in tasks and assessments. Too often, we settle for basic recall questions, or asking students to summarize information. However, with rigorous assessments, there are ways to take standard assignments and make them more rigorous. Look at the following samples of less rigorous and more rigorous assessments.
Seven Ways to Help Students Self-Assess
by Dr. Barbara Blackburn
Published via Middleweb : May 8, 2018
Although our assessment of students is critical to learning, we also want students to learn to assess themselves. Encouraging students to take measures of their own learning is more rigorous than the teacher providing all the assessment.
As always, with greater rigor comes plenty of support. We can’t expect students to immediately grasp what it means to gauge their own academic progress.
Teaching Tips: Don't Forget These Seven Grading Essentials
by Dr. Barbara Blackburn
Published via Middleweb : November 5, 2017
Grading is one of the most challenging parts of a rigorous classroom and no more so than for new and novice teachers. Many of the aspects of grading, such as whether to grade homework, are individual choices for a teacher. However, we should be careful to incorporate effective grading practices in all that we do.
Three Quick Ways to Check Students' Prior Knowledge
by Dr. Barbara Blackburn
Published via Middleweb : April 29, 2014
Content-based “prior knowledge” is the knowledge base students bring to a lesson or specific topic under study. Do they know enough to move forward?
It’s an critical question — we can’t support rigorous learning unless we make sure students are ready for the experience. So it’s important to determine what a student actually understands about a concept as we prepare for new instruction.
Three Statements that Describe Rigorous Assessment
by Dr. Barbara Blackburn
Published via Teachthought
As we’ve discussed 7 myths about rigor, and the characteristics of rigor in curriculum, the final component is rigorous assessment. There are (at least) three aspects of rigorous assessments. The degree to whether the assessment is:
Three Strategies for Organizing Your Classroom Assessment
by Dr. Barbara Blackburn
Published via Share My Lesson : February 6, 2026
I’m often asked how I manage assessment within the classroom.Managing all aspects of assessment can be overwhelming. Staying organized is a key aspect of using assessment effectively. I’ve found three key strategies that can help.
Three Tips for Effective Grading
by Dr. Barbara Blackburn
Published via Middleweb : September 17, 2014
Grading was something I struggled with as a teacher. But I’ve learned there are several characteristics that can help assure we have a fair and well-thought-out grading system that supports rigor in our classrooms.
To discuss effective grading, let’s look at an actual middle school social studies assignment.
Three Ways to Use Exit Slips
by Dr. Barbara Blackburn, Abbigail Armstrong, Melissa Miles
Published via edCircuit : August 28, 2019
There are three functions of exit slips, each of which supports different aspects of your instruction.
Exit slips are a popular strategy for receiving instant feedback on a student’s level of mastery, explaining what they learned during the lesson
