Assessments that improve the speed and quality of learning—fully updated for teacher teams! In this expanded, all-new edition, author Larry Ainsworth provides a system of intentionally aligned components (standards, instruction, assessments, and data analysis) that all work together to improve student learning. Readers will learn to: Build the “highway” to aligned assessments Decide the learning intentions and student success criteria for a unit of study Evaluate and revise assessment questions for quality Plan the learning progressions for students to attain the learning intentions Create quick progress checks to coincide with the learning progressions Use assessment results as feedback to adjust instruction and student learning strategies Upgrade your CFAs using CFA 2.0! CFA 2.0 is so much more than assessment design. It shows teachers how they can intentionally align standards, instruction, assessment, and data analysis in every unit of study.

Upgrade your CFAs using CFA 2.0 Common Formative Assessments 2.0 presents a powerful, research-based process for improving teaching and student learning that is applicable to all standards, all grades, and all content areas. CFA 2.0 is so much more than assessment design. It shows teachers how they can intentionally align standards, instruction, assessment, and data analysis in every unit of study. The CFA 2.0 process is not limited to assessment design only. Rather, it is a system of intentionally aligned components (standards, instruction, assessments, and data analysis) that all work together to improve student learning. Even a timeless process needs to remain timely. This expanded, all-new edition of the definitive guide to common formative assessments features new field research and proven strategies that will enable educators to make more accurate inferences about student understanding so they can adjust instruction to improve student learning. Readers will learn to Build the "highway" to aligned assessments Use the CFA 2.0 design steps to upgrade their own assessments Decide the learning intentions and student success criteria for a unit of study Evaluate and revise assessment questions for quality Plan the learning progressions for students to attain the learning intentions Create quick progress checks to coincide with the learning progressions Use assessment results as feedback to adjust instruction and student learning strategies Gain new knowledge and skills for creating, revising, and improving grade- and course-level common formative assessments Author Larry Ainsworth provides busy educators and leaders with a practical, how-to guide filled with information, examples, and action steps to assist all K–12 grade- and course-level teams in making this completely re-envisioned process their own.

General education is the core of the undergraduate experience. It provides a lasting foundation for students’ future academic, civil, cultural, economic, and social lives. Additionally, as part of most general education curricula, general education as well as first-year experience programs are becoming virtually universal in colleges and universities; first-year seminars often are integrated into general education programs to promote student retention, engagement, and success. The assessment of these institution-wide efforts is particularly challenging, but many campuses have made substantial progress from which we can learn. In this book, the author draws on her experience with over sixty colleges, universities, and college systems to Establish a broad context for general education and first-year experience programs and assessment, and summarize relevant ideas from professional organizations Advise how to develop mission, goal, and outcome statements Explain how to align curricula and pedagogy with learning outcomes, develop alignment questions to be used in assessment projects, and describe how campuses can use course certification to promote alignment Describe approaches for assessment planning, criteria for selecting strategies, and ethical issues to be considered Provide examples of direct and indirect assessment strategies Discuss the infrastructure for general education assessment and offer advice for effective collaboration among faculty and staff Written for college and university administrators, assessment officers, faculty, and staff who support general education and first-year experience programs, this book is a hands-on guide for developing, aligning, and assessing general education programs in meaningful, manageable, and sustainable ways. The author presents a variety of approaches and dozens of examples to help readers understand what other campuses are doing and develop a repertoire of their own methods so they can make informed decisions about their programs.