Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book deals with the classroom use of performance assessment and the evaluation of student work in response to performance tasks. It contains a collection of performance tasks in early elementary school mathematics, but also includes guidance for educators to design or adapt performance tasks for their own use. Performance assessment is fundamentally criterion-referenced rather than norm-referenced. It means any assessment of student learning that requires the evaluation of student writing, products, or behavior. The major types are formative assessments and summative assessments, either of which can include performance assessments resulting in various products and behavior. However, when teachers want to measure the depth, rigor, and complexity of comprehension they may use summative assessments which include performance tasks or technology-enhanced items or extended constructed-response items.