May 2025

As educators, we constantly seek ways to align our assessments with how students learn. More and more, students engage in collaborative learning experiences, yet traditional individual assessments remain the norm. Peter Liljedahl, in Building Thinking Classrooms, challenges us to rethink this approach: “If learning days are now full of collaboration, and if learning days are rehearsal for tests, then why are tests still done individually?” (Liljedahl, 2021, p. 253).

What Are Team-Focused Assessments?

Team-focused assessments evaluate student understanding through collaborative problem solving rather than an individual assignment. Instead of each student completing a test alone, students work in teams and choose from “mild,” “medium,” or “spicy” problems, allowing them to engage at their comfort level while still challenging themselves and demonstrating their learning together. This process creates a deeper understanding, a higher level of engagement, and shared accountability.

Why Use Team Assessments?

When considering utilizing team-focused assessments, we recognized that students work in teams, so why not assess in teams? Shifting the language from “Team Test” to “Team Challenge” removes pressure and refocuses teams towards completing tasks together. Team-focused assessments also provide an opportunity for a bigger challenge. When students are provided with options to determine their level of difficulty, they have agency to challenge themselves to collaborate on more difficult tasks than they would typically interact with individually. Team assessments also provide an opportunity for teacher-provided feedback as well as a chance to formatively assess students while they problem solve. 

How to Implement Team Assessments

To implement team-focused assessments: 

1. Determine the topic(s)/standard(s) that you would like to assess
2. Select three questions that cover each of the standard(s).
   1. Utilize the provided team challenge (Inspiring Connections) or search the assessment generator (Core Connections) as a starting point. You may need to locate or create additional questions using Closure and/or non-core problems. 
   2. Determine the “heat” level of the selected questions.
      1. Mild – These are foundational problems that reinforce key concepts and ensure understanding of basic skills. 
      2. Medium  – These problems introduce more complexity, requiring students to apply their knowledge in multi-step processes or slightly unfamiliar contexts. 
      3. Spicy  – These are the most challenging problems, requiring deeper reasoning, creativity, and multiple solution strategies. 
3. Create Task Cards
   1. Consider using task cards where one card contains one problem. This helps pace teams so they are able to focus on one task at a time.
4. Organize Students and Facilitate
   1. Use a random team generator, playing cards, popsicle sticks, or other tools to organize students into visibly random teams.
   2. Display a list of the topics/standards being assessed. This helps students monitor their own understanding and reflect on their progress as a team.
   3. Invite teams to choose a task based on their comfort level: mild, medium, or spicy. Each team begins at a vertical non-permanent surface (VNPS) and can select a different heat level for each task. For example, a team may start with a mild problem for Task 1 and challenge themselves with a spicy one for Task 2. 
   4. As teams begin working, move around the room to observe and support their thinking. Before allowing teams to move on to the next task, ask probing questions to check for understanding, evaluate reasoning, and guide reflection on their processes and solutions.
5. Assess the process
   1. Traditional assessments focus on correct answers, while team assessments should also evaluate collaboration and problem-solving strategies. Consider using rubrics that evaluate what you value.
6. Reflect
   1. After the assessment, provide your students the opportunity to reflect on your feedback and on the process. Possible questions that you could ask are as follows:
      1. What strategies worked well for your team?
      2. How did collaborating with your team help strengthen your understanding of the material?
      3. How did your team handle challenges?

Making the Shift

Shifting to team-focused assessments requires a mindset change. Teachers become facilitators of learning, guiding discussions and ensuring all students contribute. The goal is not just to assess knowledge but to reinforce a culture of collaboration and shared success. Incorporating team assessments promotes equity, supports students’ agency, and creates differentiation. 

As you reflect on your own assessment practices, consider how you might incorporate team assessments into your classroom. Start small—perhaps with one collaborative problem-solving task at VNPSs—and build from there. By aligning assessments with the way students learn, we create a more authentic and engaging learning environment that values both individual and collective growth.

Are you ready to take the leap? Give team assessments a try and watch how your students thrive!