Planning the Assessment Process Careful planning is required to ensure that there are logical connections among the purpose, methods, and use of the results. Classroom assessment is planned in relation to purpose and in alignment with curriculum and instruction. Curriculum, assessment, instruction, and learning are interconnected and interact in an iterative and sometimes (but not always) cyclical process. All four need to be aligned and coherent for the learning to be effective and meaningful. The process of planning is what provides a blueprint that centres on the purpose, makes the connections explicit, and creates a coherent organizational structure. Against this blueprint teachers can constantly question their strategies: Are my strategies still appropriate and aligned? Do I need to make adjustments or perhaps e en shift direction? Although teachers do not need to adhere strictly to their
plans, without proper planning it is difficult to ensure balance and coherence.
Backward Mapping: Planning with the End in Mind
As teachers, we sometimes begin planning a unit or sequence of learning activities by identifying a topic and favoured lessons and activities that optimize the resources we already have on hand, then proceed with teaching the material. Somewhere at the end of this processl, we assess what students have learned, only to discover that the lessons or the assessment tools did not align well with curricular expectations.
Backward mapping, on the other hand, creates the necessary alignment among desired outcomes, assessment tools, and teaching strategies by turning the planning process on its head. It prompts us to start at “the end” with the goals and outcomes we hope to achieve. Once the Where do we need to end up? question is answered, then the subsequent questions How can we best get there? and How will I know when we’ve arrived? can be considered. Backward mapping requires us not only to think about the curricular goals we want students to meet, but also to deconstruct the complex learning processes involved to identify the stages of learning. It also requires us to consider the misconceptions and confusions we might encounter along the way, and decide how we will assess whether students are progressing toward the goals. Only then should we begin considering which assessment and instructional strategies would work best to support students in working toward the desired outcomes.
