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Performance Assessment Development Process

About the Process

The Performance Assessment Development Process is best utilized when intending to create an assessment for culminating assessment purposes such as a unit, end of course, end of semester, or end of year summative assessment. Additionally, a district, BOCES, or school may wish to create a common performance assessment that can be used across multiple classrooms. Engaging in the Performance Assessment Development Process serves as evidence that an educator is participating in valuable assessment work that aligns to the Colorado Academic Standards, district curriculum, and district goals.

Performance Assessment defined

An assessment based on observation and judgment. It has two parts: the task and the criteria for judging quality. Students complete a task (give a demonstration or create a product) and it is evaluated by judging the level of quality using a rubric. Examples of demonstrations include playing a musical instrument, carrying out the steps in a scientific experiment, speaking a foreign language, reading aloud with fluency, repairing an engine, or working productively in a group. Examples of products can include writing an essay, producing a work of art, writing a lab report, etc. (Pearson Training Institute, 2011)


Develop Your Own Performance Assessments

The Colorado Content Collaboratives created performance assessments in all content areas using a Performance Assessment Process that is available to all educators. Performance assessments were developed in two groups. Group One performance assessments were developed to measure specific Colorado Academic Standards that lacked current and sufficient assessment representation. The standards to which these assessments are aligned are often thought of as “hard to measure” and require more performance-based components in order to determine student mastery.

Group Two performance assessments are specifically aligned to one of the CDE District Sample Curriculum Units. Each performance assessment defines a task or a set of tasks and includes a rubric for determining the quality of the students’ performance.

View all performance assessment examples. Use the files below to support your own Performance Assessment Development Process.

Part One: Performance Assessment Development

Documents provide an overview of the Performance Assessment Development Process and a template to use.

Part Two: Rubric Development

Documents include a presentation on rubric development as well as a rubric template and sample rubrics.

Part Three: Performance Assessment Trials

Documents provide information on how to trial or test out your performance assessment.

Part Four: Inter-Rater Agreement

Documents support how to consistently rate your experience in the use the performance assessment.