Based on Simplifying Common Assessment

In the book Learning by Doing (DuFour, et al., 2016), the authors define professional learning communities as “an ongoing process in which educators work collaboratively in recurring cycles of collective inquiry and action research to achieve better results for the students they serve.”

In practice, the collective inquiry and action research process they describe is driven by team-developed common formative assessments. Common formative assessments are the way teams answer the guiding question, “How will we know they have learned it?” and when used well, empower teams to improve their students’ learning.

Whether a team is just getting started or working to refine their collaborative practice, it can think of the common assessment process in three major phases: before, during, and after. Let’s look at the considerations and actions teams must take within each phase. Read more