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4DESIGN EDUCATION / JULIE BLACK, M.ED.
Give me a standard. Give me the learners. I’ll turn it into an engaging instructional experience - in Spanish or English. Or both.
Assessment Design & Analysis
Project
Assessment Design & Analysis
Audience
Grade 5 learners | Emergent bilingual learners | Educators
Format
Assessment analysis | Item analysis | Collaborative critique
Focus
Validity, reliability, equity, linguistic accessibility, cultural fairness
Tools
Standards-aligned assessment items | Assessment data | Item-analysis frameworks | Visual presentation tools
Original Culturally Responsive Assessment Design
This original Grade 5 reading assessment demonstrates the design of a standards-aligned, culturally responsive assessment aligned with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), the state academic standards for Texas. The informational text centers on contemporary Pueblo communities and intertribal gatherings, with assessment items measuring text structure, graphic features, central idea, author’s purpose, questioning, vocabulary in context, summary, and inference.
I designed the assessment to maintain appropriate cognitive rigor while reducing irrelevant linguistic and cultural barriers that can interfere with accurate measurement of student understanding. Items and distractors were reviewed for clarity, accessibility, standards alignment, and construct validity.
Skills shown: assessment design + standards alignment + item writing + distractor design + culturally and linguistically responsive assessment + construct validity
Artifact: Assessment Validity, Reliability & Equity Analysis
This collaborative graduate project examined the design and quality of the Grade 5 Science STAAR through the lenses of equity, validity, and reliability. The analysis considered standards alignment, linguistic complexity, cultural accessibility, and whether assessment items accurately measured science knowledge rather than introducing unintended language barriers for emergent bilingual learners.
I designed and organized the presentation framework, structuring the group’s analysis and visual communication of the findings. Assessment analysis was completed collaboratively, with individual group members contributing assigned sections.
Skills shown: assessment analysis + validity and reliability + equitable assessment practices + information design + collaborative project development
Culturally Responsive Assessment Critique & Item Analysis
This collaborative assessment critique examined individual Grade 5 Science STAAR items for standards alignment, linguistic accessibility, cultural fairness, and validity. The analysis identified ways that superfluous language, culture-specific background knowledge, and translation can create unintended barriers for emergent bilingual learners and other students whose experiences differ from those assumed by the assessment.
The featured item illustrates how an assessment can advantage students who possess particular cultural and socioeconomic background knowledge unrelated to the science concept being measured. Our analysis questioned whether performance on such items reflects science knowledge or access to the language and experiences embedded in the question.
Skills shown: assessment critique + item analysis + culturally and linguistically responsive assessment + equitable assessment practices + construct validity
