Rocky Mountain Center for Health Promotion and Education

Steps in Designing a Performance Assessment

Step 1:

Identify the content and/or skill standards to

be assessed
National Health Education Standards (NHS)
Concepts

Skills

(What a student should know)

(What a student should be able to do)

NHS #1: Health Concepts

Content areas include:
Community Health
Consumer Health
Environmental Health
Family Life
Mental and Emotional Health
Injury Prevention and Safety
Nutrition
Personal Health
Disease Prevention
Alcohol and Other Drug Use Prevention
Tobacco Use Prevention

Step 2:

NHS #2: Accessing Information (AI)

NHS #3: Self Management (SM)
NHS #4: Analyzing Influences (INF)
NHS #5: Interpersonal Communication (IC)
NHS #6: Goal Setting/Decision-Making
(GS/DM)
NHS #7: Advocacy (AV)

Construct the prompt or item

In order to engage the students in the assessment, create assessments within a

meaningful contextuse real life situations. The prompt should include:

Setting and Role

Goal or Challenge
Product/Performance and Purpose
Intended Audience

1999 Jay McTighe. Adapted with permission by RMC 2000.

page 1

Step 3:

Determine criteria for success

Identify what the student needs to be able to do to succeed.

Determine the scoring methodwhether rubric, checklist, or point system
to be used.
Review and discuss the identified elements and scoring scale with students
prior to using the assessment.
Explain the quality of work expected.
Display actual student responses that demonstrate the key characteristics of
an exemplary response.

Step 4:

Revise based on experience

The results of a performance standard can be a reflection on a variety of factors.

Evaluate the success of the assessment by asking:

How does classroom instruction need to be changed?

Does the prompt need to be revised?
Does the scoring method need to be revised?
Did the students understand how their work would be scored?
What feedback can students give concerning this assessment?
What accommodations should be made for special needs students?

1999 Jay McTighe. Adapted with permission by RMC 2000.

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Identifying the Focus of the Assessment Item

Consider curriculum priorities and most critical learnings when identifying focus.

Assessment Types

Traditional quizzes and

Worth being
familiar with

tests

Paper/pencil

Selected-response
Constructedresponse

Important to
know and do

Performance tasks and

projects

Open-ended
Complex
Authentic

2000 Jay McTighe. Adapted with permission by RMC 2000.

Enduring
understanding

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Performance Assessment Template

Form 1
Recommended
Grade Level(s):

Title of Assessment:

Step 1: National Health Education Standards

Health Concept Standard (Know)

Skill Standard (Be Able to Do)

Step 2: Construct the Prompt or Item

(Remember: Setting and Role, Goal or Challenge, Product Performance, Audience)

Step 3: Determine Criteria for Success

Criteria for Evaluating Concept

Criteria for Evaluating Skill

1999 Jay McTighe. Adapted with permission by RMC 2000.

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Performance Assessment Template

Form 2with addition of Six-Trait Writing standard

Recommended
Grade Level(s):

Title of Assessment:

Step 1: National Health Education Standards

Health Concept
Standard
(Know)

Health Skill
Standard
(Able to Do)

Other:
(e.g. Language Arts Standard)

Step 2: Construct the Prompt or Item

(Remember: Setting and Role, Goal or Challenge, Product Performance, Audience)

Step 3: Determine Criteria for Success

Criteria for Evaluating
Concept

Criteria for Evaluating

Skill

1999 Jay McTighe. Adapted with permission by RMC 2000.

Criteria for Other (such

as Six-trait, Literacy)

page 5

Tools for Step 2:

Construct the Prompt

A. Possible STUDENT ROLES

advertiser
artist/illustrator
author
biographer
boy/girl scout
candidate
cartoon character
caterer
chair person
chef
coach
composer
detective
editor
elected official
engineer
expert (in
)
eye witness
filmmaker
firefighter
historian
intern
interviewer
inventor
lawyer
literary critic
museum director/curator
newscaster
novelist
nutritionist

1999 Jay McTighe. Adapted with permission by RMC 2000.

panelist
park ranger
photographer
pilot
playwright
poet
policeman/woman
product designer
reporter
researcher
scientist
ships captain
social scientist
student
taxi driver
teacher
tour guide
travel agent
television/movie character
tutor
zoo keeper
Other

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Tools for Step 2:

Construct the Prompt

B. Possible GOALS or CHALLENGES

Summarize
Summarize
Explain
Explain
Inform
Inform
Teach
(declarative)
Teach
Teach
(procedural)
Teach

the procedure for a lab

experiment
the legal justification for a
court decision
the PTA Garden Committee

for
for

a student who was absent.

to
to

newspaper readers.

about
about

about

a younger student

about

a classmate

to

poster

to/for
to

Create a
Create a

museum display

to/for
to

Persuade
Persuade

your friend

Critique
Critique
Identify errors/
weaknesses in
Identify errors/
weaknesses in
Correct errors in
Correct errors in
Improve upon
Improve upon

the water cycle.

to

Design a
Design a

Defend
Defend

which plants are best suited to our

area.

to
to

read a contour map.

teach classmates about human,
capital, and natural resources.
document an historical event
youve researched.
read a book by your favorite
author.

your position

with/
to/for
with

data.

a students letter

to/for
to

the editor of the local newspaper.

the mathematical reasoning

of/to/
for
of

a fellow student.

a students persuasive essay

to/for
to

your first draft

of/to/
for
of

1999 Jay McTighe. Adapted with permission by RMC 2000.

a research report.

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Tools for Step 2:

Construct the Prompt

C. Possible PRODUCTS and PERFORMANCES

Written

Oral

Visual

advertisement
biography
book
book report/review
brochure
crossword puzzle
editorial
essay
experiment record
fitness calendar

audiotape
debate
dialogue
discussion
dramatization
interview
newscast
oral presentation
oral report
peer or cross-level
teaching
play
poetry reading
radio ad
rap
role-play
skit
speech
song
teach a lesson

advertisement
banner
bumper sticker
cartoon
collage
collection
computer graphic
computer program
construction
data display

game
journal
lab report
law
letter
log
magazine article
memo
newspaper article
poem
position paper
proposal
questionnaire
research report
scrapbook
script
story
survey
test
wellness plan

design
diagram
display
diorama
drawing
family tree
filmstrip
graph
map
model
painting
photograph
poster
scrapbook
sculpture
slide show
storyboard
tee-shirt
videotape

Other:

1999 Jay McTighe. Adapted with permission by RMC 2000.

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Tools for Step 2:

Construct the Prompt

D. Possible AUDIENCES

Advertisers
Board members (school, community/foundation, of directors)
Boss
Business/corporationslocal, regional, national
Celebritiesentertainers, musicians, athletes, TV/movie stars
Community members/helpers
Customers/consumers
Experts/expert panel
Family members (parents, grandparents, siblings, etc.)
Fellow/younger/older students
Foreign embassy staff
Friends
Government/elected officialslocal, state, federal
Historical figures
Judge
Jury
Library patrons/museum visitors
Neighbors
Other school staff (principal, counselor, media specialist, secretary)
Pen pals
Radio listeners
Reader(s)newspaper, magazine, etc.
Relatives
Teacher(s)
Television viewers
Travel agent
Travelers
Visitors (to school, community, state, nation, etc.)
Other:

1999 Jay McTighe: adapted with permission

1999 Jay McTighe. Adapted with permission by RMC 2000.

page 9

Tools for Step 2:

Construct the Prompt

Example Sentence Stems

A. Setting and Role
You are
or
You have been asked to

.
.

B. Goal or Challenge
Your task is
or
Your challenge is
or
Your goal is

.
.
.

C. Product/Performance and Purpose

You will create a
in order to
or
You will develop a
so that

.
.

D. Audience
Your client(s) is (are)
or
Your target audience is
or
You need to convince

1999 Jay McTighe. Adapted with permission by RMC 2000.

.
.
.

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