Assessmentdriven

Assessmentdriven is a planning and evaluation approach in which assessment considerations shape the design of instruction, programs, or products. The term is often written as assessment-driven in educational and organizational contexts. In education, this approach starts with clearly defined learning outcomes and the criteria by which those outcomes will be judged. Teachers then design assessments and learning experiences to ensure that the required knowledge and skills can be demonstrated, with feedback guiding subsequent instruction. It is closely related to backward design, which also emphasizes starting from desired results.

In practice, assessment-driven design requires alignment among objectives, assessment tasks, and teaching activities, and often uses formative assessment to gather evidence over time. Data from assessments informs curriculum revisions, instructional adjustments, and, in organizational contexts, decisions about training and resource allocation.

Benefits include clearer expectations, stronger alignment between teaching and assessment, and data-informed improvement. Challenges include the resource demands of creating valid and reliable assessments, potential narrowing of the curriculum to tested domains, and the need for timely, actionable feedback.

Beyond education, assessment-driven approaches appear in program evaluation and performance management, where evidence is used to steer policy, practice, or product development. Related concepts include formative assessment, outcomes-based education, evidence-based practice, and data-driven decision making.