Cornerstone guide · Free · 3 min read
Using Pre-Assessment to Make Instructional Decisions
For Teachers · Gifted specialists · Homeschool educators
Pre-assessment is useful when it changes instruction. Gather just enough evidence to identify what a learner understands, where support is needed and which next step is worth trying.
Editorial draft · Administrator review pending. General educational guidance; examples are illustrative, not student records. No research outcome or placement is guaranteed.
1. Define the targets before choosing questions
Break a unit into specific concepts and skills. Decide what credible evidence of understanding would look like for each one. Include an explanation, representation or unfamiliar application when appropriate, not just a page of routine answers.
2. Use more than one view of learning
Combine a short task with a conversation, relevant recent work or an observation. Make directions and materials accessible, and preserve agreed accommodations. Reading load, language demands, fatigue or unfamiliar formats can obscure the understanding you are trying to assess.
If evidence is incomplete or conflicting, record 'Not Yet Assessed' or gather more information rather than assigning a low level. An overall percentage should not conceal different strengths and gaps across targets.
3. Choose a target-specific response
The #smithingifted pathways are instructional planning labels, not diagnoses or permanent groups.
- BUILD — Teach: provide initial instruction or targeted support.
- MASTER — Almost There: address a partial understanding with focused practice and feedback.
- DEEPEN — Mastered Grade-Level Content: add depth, complexity or transfer where mastery is documented.
- ACCELERATE — Move Forward: consider new content when evidence supports readiness and required teacher/team review is complete.
4. Record the reason and replacement learning
For a compacting decision, name the mastered targets, the supporting evidence, the instruction retained for gaps and the new learning planned for released time. UConn's compacting procedure provides a useful foundation for this sequence. Do not interpret a suggested pathway as automatic approval for placement or acceleration.
5. Check the decision after instruction
Set a review point and collect evidence of the new learning. Use comparable tasks and criteria when looking for change; do not subtract scores from unrelated measures. Ask the learner what changed and what remains difficult, then adjust the plan. Keep identifying records in authorized private tools.
A practical example
Illustrative Grade 3 example: a learner computes products accurately but cannot explain an array or solve an unfamiliar equal-groups problem. Retain conceptual instruction and check transfer before compacting that target. Another learner who explains and transfers it may begin a planned investigation with a review conference.
Key takeaways
- Assess specific targets rather than assigning one global label.
- Use accessible tasks and multiple sources of evidence.
- Missing evidence is not low ability.
- Teacher decisions need reasons, replacement learning and review.
Put it into practice
- Curriculum Compacting — implementation guide →
- Flexible Grouping — implementation guide →
- Claim–Evidence–Reasoning — implementation guide →
Sources & further reading
The sources below inform the general guidance. Classroom examples and planning steps are original illustrative suggestions, not findings from a research trial.