Designing classroom assessments with the end user in mind

Abstract

Teachers are key users of classroom assessment data; however, their needs and preferences are often overlooked in the design and development of the assessments themselves. We used principles of Human-Centered Design (HCD) to systematically solicit, study, and integrate teachers’ needs in the design and development of a classroom-based early mathematics assessment. We recruited 18 teachers to participate in a series of research activities that align with HCD methodology. Data informed the articulation of the use case and test specifications, thereby elevating teachers’ voices to improve test-development decisions that consider the end users from the start.

Keywords:

• Designing classroom assessment
• human-centered design
• mathematics instruction
• use case

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Research in Mathematics Education team for their contributions in planning and facilitating this research as well as their assistance with the analyses. Finally, we extend our gratitude to the teachers who partnered with us on this journey.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1721100. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.