Making Assessment Work for Everyone: How to Build on Student Strengths is intended to provide teachers with research information and practical ideas for modifying assessments to make them more effective. Throughout the document, examples demonstrate how to make the process equitable and beneficial for students and teachers alike.

For many, the term "diversity" initially evokes the thought of people different from themselves. So it's not surprising that many classroom teachers, the majority still European American, may tend to equate diversity with ethnic minorities. Yet in reality, of course, the term simply refers to the variance within any group -- a variance to which all members contribute. In the classroom, that includes those who have traditionally been considered a part of the "norm" or "mainstream."

Diversity encompasses differences in culture, language, ethnicity, gender, social class, age, physical attributes, learning styles, religion, locale, nationality, sexual orientation, and more. This publication is based on the recognition that such overlapping and interconnected sociocultural factors contribute greatly to students' identity as learners and to their overall educational experience. If we, as teachers, are to be effective across the broad range of students we encounter, we must know how to accurately and equitably assess the learning that goes on in our classrooms. To do so, we must understand the base of experience and culture that students bring with them to the classroom, as well as how sociocultural factors play out in assessment. This publication specifically focuses on those aspects of diversity associated with culture and language, with some attention to gender and ethnicity.

In a perfect world, we would know each individual learner's strengths and needs and be able to tailor all learning experiences and assessments to fit their unique circumstances. In reality, we must help all students meet common standards for excellence while recognizing that their paths to success may vary significantly, especially for those students whose language or culture is different from our own. The challenge throughout this document is to think about how to maintain high standards and expectations for all learners while building on the uniqueness each learner brings to the classroom environment.

Making Assessment Work for Everyone is intended to help educators:

• Understand the essential characteristics of good assessment
• Uncover the strengths and cultural perspectives of diverse learners
• Create or select classroom assessments that meet high standards as well as support and reveal the learning of every child
• Increase awareness of potential sources of bias and inequity in assessments
• Use strategies to improve inequitable assessments

	Did You Know? The following facts have been compiled from information available through the National Center for Education Statistics. In 1995, 33 percent of all students were ethnic minorities and, by the year 2020, this figure will rise to 46 percent. In 2008, 41 percent of all students will be minorities; however, only 5 percent of teachers will be minorities. Forty-two percent of all public schools have no minority teachers. By 2008, 2.7 million new teachers will be needed. More than 700,000 teachers will be needed in inner-city urban and rural areas where language and cultural dissonance between staff and students may be greatest. Forty-three percent of U.S. school districts enroll students with native languages other than English. More than 80 different languages are spoken within the Los Angeles School District alone. In 1996-97, there were 3.5 million English language learners enrolled in K-12 schools across the United States. Between 1990 and 1997, the percentage of English language learners in schools grew at least 50 percent in 35 states and by over 200 percent in 12 of those states. In California, New Mexico, and Arizona, more than 20 percent of students begin school without proficiency in English, and in 18 other states, between 5 and 15 percent of students begin school without that proficiency. In 1988, researchers found that only 5 percent of future teachers in California take any course in multicultural education. (Richard Valencia, 1991)

Our Guiding Principles

As we encounter more students whose culture and language differ from our own, we will need to expand the ways we assess their knowledge and skills. The information and guidance offered in this publication for doing so is grounded in the following research-based realities and in our understanding of what these realities imply for school and, more specifically, for classroom practice:

1. Culture is inherent in every aspect of schooling; therefore, we need to be aware of the cultural values underlying our schooling practices and how they may result in confusion or conflict for some students.

2. Diversity should be seen as a benefit and as additive; therefore, the strengths in all cultures should be acknowledged and built on in the classroom.

3. Language, the primary vehicle for thought and learning, is inherent in virtually all assessment; therefore, it is important to understand how the forms and uses of language in assessment coincide or conflict with the forms and uses students have learned in their own homes and communities.

4. All learners are born curious and can acquire new knowledge, skills, and patterns of behavior; therefore, when students are not achieving, our educational practices need to change.

5. No single method of assessment is capable of showing achievement on a full range of learning objectives; therefore, multiple assessments must be used to provide adequate opportunities for learners to demonstrate achievement.

6. Assessment experiences should be part of a positive learning process; therefore, assessment tasks should not erode students' sense of self-worth.

7. All learners deserve opportunities for authentic assessment of their learning and honest feedback; therefore, assessments should make sense to students, and their performance should be reported and interpreted in terms they can understand.

8. Assessment is a high stakes activity. Assessment outcomes often determine who is allowed to enroll in courses or receive job, college, or scholarship opportunities; therefore, we are ethically bound to ensure that it is fair and valid.

9. The most important purpose of assessment is to improve teaching and learning; therefore, assessments that do not contribute to these processes should be questioned.