Guidelines for Measuring 21st

Century Competencies
Considerations When Adopting or Adapting
Assessments of 21st Century Competencies
Presented by:
Jeaneca Kim S. Rofuli
Sarajen B. Visconde
Adopt

Adapt

means to take and accept

something in its original form

means to make sonething

suitable for a new purpose or
use

Adopting an assessment
involves using the
assessment as it is, without
making any changes to the
content, format, or scoring
procedures.

Adapting an assessment
involves making changes to
the assessment to better
suit the specific needs of the
context or students.
An Investigation of Available Measures of
21st Century Competencies

1. The process of selecting an assessment should begin with a determination of what

purpose the assessment is intended to serve.
2. Tests that will be used to make consequential decisions need to meet higher
technical standards than tests that are used for lower-stakes decisions.
3. The cost of assessment (both expenditures and time) should be weighed against
the
value of the uses it will serve.
4. More-complex assessments may be needed to measure more-complex competencies.
5. Innovative assessments (involving simulations, remote collaboration, etc.) can
require substantial time and resources (e.g., training, computing power,
telecommunications infrastructures).
6. 21st century competencies cannot be measured equally well, and competencies that
are not well defined are particularly difficult to measure.
An Investigation of Available Measures of
21st Century Competencies
7. If the desired assessments do not exist, districts can work with partners to
develop them
(partners can include other districts, researchers, and assessment organizations).
8. Context and culture matter, and assessments that work in one setting might not
work as well in
another. It is often necessary to conduct additional research to validate measures
locally.

9. Acquiring information about students’ understanding of 21st century competencies

can
make educators and students more intentional about improving the competencies.
10. Educators (and learning scientists) do not know as much about teaching and
learning 21st century competencies as they do about teaching traditional academic
content,
so expectations for improvement need to be realistic.
11. Assessments can have unintended consequences, which should be monitored in each
local context.
12. Measures of 21st century competencies should be part of a balanced assessment
strategy
GUIDELINES FOR
MEASURING 21ST
CENTURY
COMPETENCIES
Considerations When
Adopting or Adapting
Assessments of 21st
Century Competencies

The
process
of
selecting
an
assessment
should
begin
01
with a determination of what purpose the assessment
is intended to serve.

Start with the assessment's intended

purpose.
The purpose might be accountability,
set priorities or to improve instruction.
GUIDELINES FOR
MEASURING 21ST
CENTURY
COMPETENCIES
Considerations When
Adopting or Adapting
Assessments of 21st
Century Competencies

02

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03
GUIDELINES FOR
MEASURING 21ST
CENTURY
COMPETENCIES
Considerations When
Adopting or Adapting
Assessments of 21st
Century Competencies

The cost of assessment (both expenditures and time) should be

weighed against the value of the uses it will serve.

The balance between the cost of an

assessment—both in financial terms and
time invested—and the value it brings to
the educational objectives it serves.
Consider financial and time costs against
the benefits, especially for 21st-century
competencies.
GUIDELINES FOR
MEASURING 21ST
CENTURY
COMPETENCIES
Considerations When
Adopting or Adapting
Assessments of 21st
Century Competencies

The
measurement
of
more
complex
competencies may necessitate more advanced
assessment formats and technologies. While
some competencies can be measured with
traditional
assessments,
comprehensive
evaluations of multifaceted skills could require
more sophisticated, technology-driven, and
resource-intensive approaches.

More-complex assessments may be needed to

04
measure more-complex competencies.
GUIDELINES FOR
MEASURING 21ST
CENTURY
COMPETENCIES
Considerations When
Adopting or Adapting
Assessments of 21st
Century Competencies

05

Innovative assessments (involving simulations, remote

collaboration, etc.) can require substantial time and
resources (e.g., training, computing power,
telecommunications infrastructures).

These types of assessments often

necessitate substantial time, financial,
and technological resources.
The challenge in measuring 21st-century competencies, indicating that not
all competencies can be measured with the same level of precision.
Moreover, competencies that lack clear definition are particularly difficult
to measure effectively.
GUIDELINES FOR
MEASURING 21ST
CENTURY
COMPETENCIES
Considerations When
Adopting or Adapting
Assessments of 21st
Century Competencies

While technological advancements have the potential to

enhance the quality and feasibility of measuring certain skills,
particularly those with clearer definitions or more distinct
components, they might not be as effective in measuring
competencies that lack clear definition.
06

21st century competencies cannot be measured equally

well, and competencies that are not well defined are
particularly difficult to measure.
If
the
desired
assessments
do
not
exist,
districts
can
07
work with partners to develop them (partners can
include other districts, researchers, and assessment
organizations).

Partnerships can help develop new

assessments if the existing ones don't
meet local needs—such as other
districts, researchers, and assessment
organizations to develop the
assessments they require.

GUIDELINES FOR
MEASURING 21ST
CENTURY
COMPETENCIES
Considerations When
Adopting or Adapting
Assessments of 21st
Century Competencies
Assessments may not work universally;
Extra caution is warranted when
considering measures of 21st century
competencies,
particularly
for
interpersonal
and
intrapersonal
competencies.

GUIDELINES FOR
MEASURING 21ST
CENTURY
COMPETENCIES
Considerations When
Adopting or Adapting
Assessments of 21st
Century Competencies

k
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C
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necessary to cond
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08
validate measures locally
09

Acquiring information about students’ understanding of 21st

century competencies can make educators and students more
intentional about improving the competencies.

Measuring competencies can make

educators and students more intentional
about improvement.

GUIDELINES FOR
MEASURING 21ST
CENTURY
COMPETENCIES
Considerations When
Adopting or Adapting
Assessments of 21st
Century Competencies

Moreover, the assessment process can

facilitate a more intentional approach across
classrooms by establishing a shared language or
vocabulary around these competencies.
Uncertainty exists in teaching 21stcentury competencies due to limited
understanding of effective practices.
Additional evidence is needed to
understand how teachers can influence
competencies.

GUIDELINES FOR
MEASURING 21ST
CENTURY
COMPETENCIES
Considerations When
Adopting or Adapting
Assessments of 21st
Century Competencies

Educators (and learning scientists) do not know as much

about
teaching
and
learning
21st
century
competencies
as
10
they do about teaching traditional academic content, so
expectations for improvement need to be realistic.
11

Assessments can have unintended consequences,

which should be monitored in each local context.

Assessments may have unintended

effects on students and teaching
practices. Avoiding these unintended
consequences requires careful planning
in
the
design
of
testing
and
accountability policies.

GUIDELINES FOR
MEASURING 21ST
CENTURY
COMPETENCIES
Considerations When
Adopting or Adapting
Assessments of 21st
Century Competencies
New assessments shouldn't replace
traditional ones but supplement them.
A balanced system should integrate
different assessments for a holistic
evaluation.
12

Measures of 21st century competencies should be part of

a balanced assessment strategy

GUIDELINES FOR
MEASURING 21ST
CENTURY
COMPETENCIES
Considerations When
Adopting or Adapting
Assessments of 21st
Century Competencies
01

GUIDELINES FOR
MEASURING 21ST
CENTURY
COMPETENCIES
Considerations When
Adopting or Adapting
Assessments of 21st
Century Competencies

Assessment
Purpose
04

02

03

Technical
Standards

Cost and
Value Analysis

05

06

Complexity and
Measurement

Resource Demands
for Innovative
Assessments

Measurement
Challenges

07

08

09

Developing
Desired
Assessments

Context and
Cultural
Considerations

Intentional
Improvement
through Assessments

10
11

12

Realistic
Expectations
in Teaching

Unintended
Consequences

Balanced
Assessment
Strategy
Thankyou for
listening

Presented by:
Jeaneca Kim S. Rofuli
Sarajen B. Visconde