2019 NCSA: Collaborative Scoring of Constructed-Response and Performance Assessments by Local Educators

Major impediments to district use of performance or constructed-response assessments include 1) lacking trust in teacher self-scored assessments (due to lack of scorer training) and 2) the cost of central scoring. Yet, teacher scoring of student work is among the most powerful professional learning in which teachers can engage. How can better scoring be provided locally in a more cost-effective manner? These challenges are addressed in the Michigan-Collaborative Scoring System (MI-CSS) project, developed from MZ Development software in collaboration with the MAC, as part of a statewide arts assessment (Michigan Arts Education Instruction and Assessment). While the project focuses on the arts, its implications transcend all curriculum areas. States could provide model performance assessments using written, audio, or video response with rubrics for local educator use, thus providing quality classroom assessments at substantially lower cost and making such assessments a feasible part of a state- or district-balanced approach to assessment.