With the support of the Alberta Teachers’ Association, AAC has developed this professional learning guide for school leaders committed to strengthening assessment practices within their schools. Assessment literacy is a critical area of leadership, shaping both instructional decision-making and student success. As noted in the guide, “assessment literacy is an essential area of study for leaders… enhancing their personal assessment capacity enables them to provide effective instructional leadership in assessment” (AAC, 2018, p. 7).

This resource is designed to build leaders’ confidence and expertise in assessment, equipping them to guide meaningful conversations and support teacher growth. It is intended to be used alongside AAC’s Assessment Conversations: Engaging with Colleagues to Support Student Learning, providing a practical and collaborative framework for improving assessment practices across learning communities.

Leaders can download a free PDF of the guide or visit https://store.aac.ab.ca/ to purchase a bound copy at a very affordable price.

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This resource builds on Project Zero’s Cultures of Thinking framework, adapting the eight Cultural Forces to help leaders foster a positive assessment culture among teachers, students, and families.

System Leaders have found these tools useful for reflecting on and providing feedback on their recent PD program in Assessment. All leaders are invited to use these tools to guide their next steps for leading PD.

Make a Copy to Use

The AAC Key Visual, originally designed to support teachers in planning effective classroom assessment, has been adapted to guide instructional leaders in designing and leading professional learning.

Use this resource to plan professional learning that:

• Begins with clear outcomes and a focus on impact
• Provides multiple opportunities for practice and feedback
• Uses evidence and data to inform next steps

This tool supports leaders in creating coherent, responsive professional learning that leads to meaningful changes in assessment practice.

It has been well-documented in the research literature that formative assessment supports student learning. This project, funded through an Alberta Education grant, was based on the premise that the application of those same principles of formative assessment could also support professional learning for teachers and leaders. In this way, formative assessment became both the content and the process for the project.

Phase One: Supporting the Coaching Process

Through a series of conversations and with support from the AAC Facilitator, school leaders from three southern Alberta school jurisdictions utilized a coaching process to support teachers in enhancing classroom assessment practice. Click on the link below to access information about the coaching process designed for this project.
Instructional Leadership Coaching Process (with external coach) (download PDF file)

A narrative inquiry research study followed a group of project participants over a two-year period of time. Click on the links below to access the complete final research report as well as a shorter summary of the research findings.
Narrative Inquiry: Coaching to Support Instructional Leadership in Assessment (download PDF file)
Summary of Research Findings: AAC Instructional Leadership in Assessment (download PDF file)

Phase Two: Supporting Leaders’ Growth in Assessment Knowledge and Skill

During this final year of the grant, AAC has been working with five leadership cohorts to design a model of leadership support in assessment that could be more readily implemented on a broader scale. A summary report will be posted as the project concludes in August 2016.

Learn and Go PD: Developed in Partnership with APLC

Learn and Go PD: Developed in Partnership with APLC

Design