Developmental Assessment. Assessment Resource Kit (ARK)

Developmental assessment is the process of monitoring a student's progress through an area of learning so that decisions can be made about the best way to facilitate further learning. The unique feature of developmental assessment is its use of a progress map. The progress map, or continuum, describes the development in an area of learning and so provides a frame of references for monitoring individual development. The map becomes a shared framework for assessing student growth. In most areas of learning no single assessment is capable of providing information about the full range of learning outcomes. Some outcomes require particular methods of assessment, and teachers can use a variety of schemes for recording observations and judgments that range from anecdotal notes to procedures for rating and scoring student work. Developmental assessment involves careful recording of attainment to fulfill its central purpose, which is estimating students' levels of attainment in an area of learning, conceptualized as locations along a developmental continuum or progress map. The map gives a way of displaying student achievement graphically. When schools and school systems report student achievement against a progress map, performance can be understood not only in terms of the knowledge, skills, and understandings on the map, but also in terms of the performance of other student of the same age and grade. A number of illustrations highlight important concepts related to progress maps.