During the 2008-2009 school year, Salem City Schools has focused attention on Assessment FOR Learning - best practices for using classroom assessments to better inform instruction and guide student learning.

In our efforts to help all students meet high achievement standards in diverse areas of studies, teachers must have a clear and shared understanding of assessment as a means to examine and develop instruction on the journey toward mastery learning, as opposed to its conventional use to assign grades. Assessment must focus on determining where each student is performing with respect to established learning criteria, and provide the information necessary to adjust instruction and instructional goals for each student in a manner that assists and empowers the student to meet those goals. No longer is assessment an “end” for placing students on a grading continuum based on the “normal curve.” Assessment FOR Learning is a means for addressing and embracing the joint responsibilities of the teacher and student for monitoring progress, adjusting strategies, and ultimately attaining high levels of achievement.

Assessment FOR Learning requires all parties to rethink assessment, to re-examine and long-held beliefs about the purpose of assessment, and to work together to implement classroom practices that allow, even promote, use of assessment in new ways. The shift to Assessment FOR Learning challenges us to modify our practices, re-think our policies, and ultimately expand the way we think about assessment. Research in the area of assessment and student achievement overwhelmingly supports the implementation of Assessment FOR Learning as a powerful tool for improving student achievement and instructional practice. It is also a proven strategy to motivate students to learn, challenging the widely held notion that some students are motivated while others are not. On the contrary, students (like adults) are more motivated to learn when they have evidence that their hard work is paying off.