Explore professional learning resources that support effective, balanced, and student-centered assessment practices.
Whether you are interpreting statewide assessment results, implementing interim assessments, strengthening classroom assessment practices, or building assessment literacy, this page provides courses, presentations, videos, facilitation materials, communication resources, and practical tools for using formative, interim, performance, and summative assessments to support student learning and continuous improvement.
Featured Professional Learning Canvas Courses
Comprehensive Canvas professional learning courses
Learn how OSAS test design, assessment targets, and patterns in student results can inform system-level continuous improvement, curriculum planning, instructional pacing, and professional learning.
Learn how to effectively implement OSAS Interim Assessment Blocks (IABs) and Focused IABs as part of Oregon's balanced assessment system. This self-paced professional learning course helps educators select appropriate assessments, interpret results, and use interim data to support instructional planning, curriculum alignment, and continuous improvement.
Oregon Formative Assessment for Students and Teachers (OFAST) is a professional learning opportunity provided by the Oregon State Department of Education to support Oregon K-12 teachers in implementing formative assessment effectively in their classrooms.
Please use the learning from this course along with the resources in the Exploring Professional Learning by Topic – Formative Assessment Practices.
Explore Professional Learning by Topic
Find additional learning opportunities and resources organized by key assessment topics
This is a companion piece for the Effectively Using OSAS Results Canvas Course.
Overall OSAS performance data are one data point, but do not provide the same actionable next steps as claim, or more importantly, OSAS target data/reports.
Analyzing trends in target data, available for OSAS ELA, Math, and Science tests, allows districts and schools to meaningfully evaluate the strengths and opportunities for growth within their systems of teaching and learning.
Local Performance Assessment (LPA) Professional Development (PD) Presentation Materials
Local Performance Assessment (LPA) Professional Development (PD) Anchor Paper Materials: NOTE: not all grades are represented, and training materials focus on providing a baseline grade band (i.e., elementary, middle, and high school)
- Writing Scoring Calibration Tasks: The following tasks were used to serve as the sample tasks given to students for the purpose of collecting student samples for the purpose of writing scoring calibration training.
- Writing Scoring Calibration Student Sample Papers: The following documents provide student sample papers based on the assigned tasks.
- Writing Scoring Calibration Scoring Justifications and Commentary: The following documents provide scoring
- Writing – Local Performance Assessment (LPA) Professional Development (PD) Activity Materials
- Official Writing Scoring Guide Adjectives Worksheet for Elementary and Secondary: This document provides a list of key adjectives used in the different scoring descriptors of the Oregon Writing Scoring Guides.
- Chart your Scores Worksheet: This document provides a table to be used by educators for recording writing trait scores to compare and discuss when practicing scoring of student anchor papers.
- Introduction to Formative Assessment Practices - These materials were developed by Margaret Heritage for the Oregon Department of Education and are structured around eight (60-minute) PLC Modules containing formative assessment practices, learning progressions, and implementation and instructional practices.
- High-quality assessment practices in classrooms – These materials were developed by the Center for Assessment for classroom educators and district/school leaders. These professional learning modules build the knowledge and skills needed to use high-quality assessments to support student learning and improve outcomes.
- Formative Assessment in Action Video Series - The Formative Assessment in Action video series features California members of the State Network of Educators (SNE) demonstrating formative assessment strategies in their classrooms. The lessons and activities used in these videos can be found in the instructional resources on the Tools for Teachers website.
- The Formative Assessment Rubric, Resources, and Observation Protocol (FARROP) provide guidelines and resources for use in observations and reflections on formative assessment practices. It is not an evaluative tool, rather it should be used to encourage reflection, provide feedback, and facilitate conversations for continuous improvement.
- OFAST Course (Oregon Formative Assessment for Students and Teachers)
Assessment Literacy and Leadership
Resources for leaders, educators, and families for building a shared understanding of assessment purposes, practices, appropriate uses, and communication strategies.
Developed by the Oregon Department of Education and its partners, this guidance defines key K-12 assessment terms, explains appropriate uses of statewide assessment data, and promotes efficient testing practices. It is intended to support Oregon’s evolving understanding of assessment literacy.
Right Assessment for the Right Purpose Guidance Document (Published August 7, 2019)
Please contact Andrea Lockard, Assistant Superintendent, Office of RADAR, if you have any questions regarding the guidance document.
The videos provide an overview of the resources that ODE has made available for districts to support balanced approaches to assessment, leveraging formative assessment practices, interim assessments, and summative assessments in a coherent, comprehensive manner to help drive instruction in the moment, periodically throughout the year, and annually to support student learning.
The videos provide an overview of the resources that ODE has made available for districts to support balanced approaches to assessment, leveraging formative assessment practices, interim assessments, and summative assessments in a coherent, comprehensive manner to help drive instruction in the moment, periodically throughout the year, and annually to support student learning.
ODE has developed assessment literacy modules for parents and families. Each module is available in English and Spanish and includes:
- How does ODE ensure statewide summative assessments are fair and accessible?
- What assessments does my child take, and why?
- How did my child perform on state assessments?
- How can I support learning at home?
- Where can I get answers to assessment questions?
ODE developed a series of communication flyers that education and community partners can use to share information about the value of participating in Oregon’s statewide assessment system. The flyers are designed to speak to five different audiences, who each have unique interests and uses for Oregon’s state summative test results. The flyers address questions that are central to the purpose of Oregon’s state summative tests and point to resources that are relevant for different users.
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Student Assessment Communication
Spanish,
Chinese (Traditional),
Chinese (Simplified),
Vietnamese,
Russian,
German,
French,
Tagalog,
Japanese,
Korean,
Arabic,
Somali -
Family Assessment Communication
Spanish,
Chinese (Traditional),
Chinese (Simplified),
Vietnamese,
Russian,
German,
French,
Tagalog,
Japanese,
Korean,
Arabic,
Somali -
Educator Assessment Communication
Spanish,
Chinese (Traditional),
Chinese (Simplified),
Vietnamese,
Russian,
German,
French,
Tagalog,
Japanese,
Korean,
Arabic,
Somali -
Policymaker Assessment Communication
Spanish,
Chinese (Traditional),
Chinese (Simplified),
Vietnamese,
Russian,
German,
French,
Tagalog,
Japanese,
Korean,
Arabic,
Somali -
IEP Team Assessment Guide
Spanish,
Chinese (Traditional),
Chinese (Simplified),
Vietnamese,
Russian,
German,
French,
Tagalog,
Japanese,
Korean,
Arabic,
Somali
Progress monitoring is a way for educators to regularly check students’ learning over time to see if instruction is working and to decide what to adjust next. Progress monitoring:
- Focuses on specific learning goals
- Uses repeated, brief checks during the school year
- Helps teachers adapt instruction, provide support, and build on students’ strengths
- Uses multiple sources of data to support fair, equitable, and culturally responsive decisions
The
Progress Monitoring Guidance document is a new resource designed to support districts in creating a coherent assessment system. It provides a clear, research aligned framework for implementing equitable, instructionally useful progress monitoring systems that improve student outcomes.
Please contact the
ODE Assessment Team for more information or support.