Instruction and Assessment
Domain 3 tests planning, delivery, differentiation, and assessment literacy: aligning objectives to standards, choosing evidence, adapting for diverse learners, and using data to adjust teaching.
Core rules
- Start with the standard and a clear measurable objective; align activities and assessment to it (backward design).
- Scaffold instruction with modeling, guided practice, and independent practice; use questioning that moves from recall to application and analysis.
- Use Universal Design for Learning: multiple means of engagement, representation, and action/expression.
- Distinguish formative assessment (during learning, informs teaching, low stakes) from summative assessment (after learning, reports mastery).
- Check validity (measures the intended construct) and reliability (consistent results); avoid bias in examples and language.
- Use MTSS/RTI data to adjust core instruction and provide targeted intervention.
- Know the difference: accommodations change access (extended time, read-aloud) without changing expectations; modifications change content or performance level.
Worked example
A pre-assessment on equivalent fractions shows six students cannot identify 1/2 = 2/4, while most can. The teacher keeps the whole-class goal but pulls the six for a small group using fraction tiles and a matching task, then gives an exit ticket. Reasoning: the data identify a prerequisite gap; small-group concrete work is targeted Tier 2 support, and the exit ticket supplies formative evidence before the summative quiz. Reteaching the entire unit would waste time for students who are ready.
Traps
Grading formative work as a summative score; using a rubric that measures effort instead of the objective; confusing accommodation with modification; teaching to the test format rather than the standard; and calling an assessment “valid” just because it is reliable.