Assessment That Builds Learning: Self-Evaluation and Mastery Over Time

• Have you tried a Team Challenge with your students? Team Challenges provide opportunities to assess mathematical knowledge, problem-solving ability, perseverance, willingness to take risks, and collaboration skills. You can locate Team Challenges for each chapter in Inspiring Connections and Core Connections 3rd Edition in the Resources section under Sample Assessments. For Core Connections 2nd Edition, you can find Team Tests under Assessment in the Teacher tab of the eBook.
• Reserve some time for the Chapter Closure activities, which include opportunities for students to check their understanding, engage with vocabulary, and make connections between topics. The Chapter Closure gives students a chance to assess their own learning and gives you a way to formatively assess their progress.
• When assessing for understanding, remember that proficiency takes time. For this reason, approximately 60% of the items on a test should be on topics from previous chapters and 40% should be on newer, developing concepts. For guidance on which topics are appropriate to assess, see the Suggested Assessment Plan in the Chapter Introduction of Core Connections courses or the Authors’ Vision in the Chapter Closure of Inspiring Connections courses.
• Ready to create your own assessment? Try the new Assessment Builder, where you can edit and print the Sample Assessments, create individual and team assessments from the problem bank, or write your own problems. After you log in, Assessment Builder Help offers a quick walkthrough of the tool.

More Great Tips to Consider:

• Consider facilitating a Team Spotlight (STTS) to provide feedback for teams. You can choose a focus, such as one of the Standards for Mathematical Practice, the use of team roles, or collaborative talk. You can find more information about facilitating a Team Spotlight, along with suggested problems, in the Teacher Notes of various lessons and in the Chapter Introduction of Core Connections, Courses 1–3. General information is located in the Teacher Materials. For Core Connections 2nd Edition, see Participation Quiz in the Team section under the Teacher tab of the eBook.
• Remember, concepts are revisited many times throughout the course so that students have multiple opportunities to become proficient.