What is Backward Design?          

Stage 2

Determine Acceptable Evidence

 

After deciding what content is going to be taught, teachers need to collect evidence to determine whether students have met the standards.

 

When assessing your students, you need to consider what types of evaluations you are going to use. The backward design approach suggests that teachers use an assortment of assessments. For example, teachers should use formative assessments during their lesson to check for understanding. They can do this by asking students questions or observing students. Other assessments include a conventional test or quiz, academic prompts, and performance tasks and projects.  (McTighe & Wiggins, 1998)  

 

According to McTighe and Wiggins (1998), " understanding develops as a result of ongoing inquiry and rethinking, the assessment of understanding should be thought of in terms of a collection of evidence over time instead of an event—a single moment-in-time test at the end of instruction—as so often happens in current practice" (p.11). 

 

Wiggins and McTighe (1998) provide an illustration that connects the curriculum priorities (stage 1) with different types of assessments (stage 2).