What is a Learning Target?
Written Response
A Learning Target is a clear statement that describes In written response assessments, students answer in
what students should know or be able to do by the end their own words. This method is used to see how well
of a lesson or unit. It focuses on specific goals for students understand complex ideas, how they think, and
learning, so students understand what is expected of how they reason. It gives students the chance to explain
them. These targets help guide teaching and learning usually through short answers, essays, or explanations.
activities.
Performance Assessment
Why is it Important to Align Assessments with Learning
Performance assessments ask students to show what
Targets?
they’ve learned by doing something practical, like a
Aligning assessments with learning targets ensures that project, experiment, or presentation. Instead of just
you are testing students on the skills and knowledge answering questions, students demonstrate their skills
they were supposed to learn. This helps teachers check or knowledge in real-life situations.
whether students have met the learning goals and gives
Personal Communication
accurate feedback on their progress. It also helps ensure
fair grading and effective teaching. Personal communication assessments happen when
teachers and students talk to assess understanding. This
Types of Instructional Learning Targets:
can include oral questioning, discussions, or feedback
1. Knowledge Targets sessions. It’s a more interactive way to check what
These targets focus on what students should students know and think, while also giving them
know. They include facts, concepts, or immediate feedback.
procedures that students need to remember
The image presents a table labeled "Target-Method
and understand by the end of a lesson or unit.
Match," which categorizes different methods of
2. Reasoning Targets assessment (Selected Response, Written Response,
These targets emphasize how students should Performance Assessment, and Personal Communication)
apply and process knowledge. They focus on based on their effectiveness in assessing four types of
higher-level thinking skills like analyzing, learning targets: Knowledge, Reasoning, Skill, and
evaluating, or problem-solving. Product. Here's an analysis of the table:
3. Skill Targets Summary:
These targets focus on what students should be
Selected and Written Responses are better for
able to do. They emphasize specific actions, like
assessing Knowledge and Reasoning, but less
demonstrating a technique or performing a task.
effective for Skill and Product.
4. Product Targets
Performance Assessment is strong for assessing
These targets focus on the quality of something
Skill and Product, and partial for Knowledge
students create. They assess students based on
and Reasoning.
the outcome of a project, presentation, or
written work. Personal Communication is strong for
Reasoning and Knowledge but partial for
Assessment Methods:
assessing Skill, and poor for Product.
Selected Response
This table helps educators select the most appropriate
In selected response assessments, students choose an assessment method depending on the learning target
answer from options like multiple-choice, true/false, or they want to measure.
matching questions. It’s a quick way to test basic
In the "Target-Method Match" table, the term "Strong"
knowledge or understanding and can cover a lot of
indicates that a particular assessment method is highly
material in a short time, making it great for large groups. effective at evaluating that specific learning target.
Why Some Assessment Methods Are Marked "Strong"
for Specific Targets:
1. Knowledge
Written Response (Strong): Essays or open-ended
questions are great for assessing knowledge because
they let students show what they know in detail. They
can explain facts and how those facts connect, which
gives a full picture of their understanding.
Personal Communication (Strong): Talking to students
through discussions or interviews helps teachers check
how well students understand concepts. It’s interactive,
so teachers can ask follow-up questions to dig deeper
into the students' knowledge.
2. Reasoning
Written Response (Strong): Written tasks like essays
allow students to explain their thought process, show
how they analyze information, and provide logical
arguments. This makes it a strong way to assess
reasoning because it shows how well students think
through problems or concepts.
Personal Communication (Strong): When teachers talk
with students, they can assess reasoning by asking them
to explain their thoughts on the spot. This back-and-
forth lets teachers test how students think through
ideas and respond to challenges.
3. Skill
Performance Assessment (Strong): Skills are best tested
when students actually perform tasks in real-life
situations (like playing an instrument or conducting an
experiment). Performance assessments are strong
because teachers can directly see and evaluate how well
students use their skills in action.
4. Product
Performance Assessment (Strong): Products are things
that students create, like art projects or reports.
Performance assessments are strong here because
teachers can assess the final product based on its
quality, creativity, and correctness. This method helps
evaluate how well students can produce something
tangible.
