Definition
Common Assessments are activities that multiple teachers in an organization assign to their classes with the goal of measuring the performance of all students across different sections or classrooms. Common Assessments are used to measure students' performance consistently and fairly, ensuring that all students have an equal chance of succeeding in critical subjects.
You can tag any of your activities as a Common Assessment and share it with your colleagues. When a colleague uses a Common Assessment, they won't be able to edit or change the content in any way (they will only be able to assign it). That means that you can be sure every class is taking the same version of the assessment. Additionally, you have the option to set global grading behavior (assign settings) - pre-define and locked settings - to ensure your colleagues are using the same settings across the board.
Note: Teachers now have the option to allow retakes for Common Assessments. This empowers students to learn from their mistakes, fosters a growth mindset, and encourages mastery of the material.
Tag an Existing Activity as a Common Assessment
To tag an activity as a Common Assessment:
Access the activity
Click on the triple dots at the top right corner of the activity
Choose "Common Assessment Settings" from the dropdown menu
Toggle on the button for "Tag formative as a common assessment"
Note: Once toggled on, a Common Assessment tag can not be removed
Use the "Tag Management" section and fill out the setting fields (each field can accommodate multiple selections):
Academic year(s)
Grade level(s)
Subject(s)
Formative type(s) (optional)
Use the "Grading Behavior" section to define global assign settings
You can choose to pre-define and lock assign settings of your choice from the dropdown lists within each field, or choose "User Preference" to allow colleagues to define their own assign settings:
- After Submission - Will students be able to locate the assessment, view it and/or edit it after submission.
- Return Scores - Will scores be returned to the students and when.
- Return Correct Answers - Will correct answers be returned to the students and when.
- Total Attempts - How many attempts (retakes) will students be able to take on this assignment. Note: if selecting 'User Preference' the assigning teachers will be able to select to allow their students anywhere between 1 - 4 attempts).
Note: if a specific choice from the dropdown is initially selected but is edited at a later time to "User Preference" - the change will not automatically reflect on existing assignments, so teachers who assigned the Common Assessment to their classes prior to the global setting being edited, will need to manually adjust their own classes' grading behavior accordingly.
Toggle on "Set Threshold" if you'd like to override teachers' individual score thresholds settings and grading framework by defining thresholds to be used consistently across all teachers and classes. You can adjust the ranges and the colors, as well as add or remove thresholds from the list.
Use the "Content Display" section to control the activity display for all students. You can toggle on "Display each item as a separate page" and/or "Display questions in random order". The settings applied here will disable teachers' ability to adjust these settings for their classes.
Use the "LockDown Browser" section if your organization has purchased Formative's LockDown Browser and choose your preferred setting:
Selecting "LockDown Browser" will force the requirement to launch the activity via LockDown Browser consistently across all teachers and classes assigned.
Selecting "User Preference" will allow teachers to control this setting for each of their classes individually. Teachers may choose to force launch with LockDown Browser or allow students to launch without it.
Note: if a specific choice from the dropdown is initially selected but is edited at a later time to "User Preference" - the change will not automatically reflect on existing assignments, so teachers who assigned the Common Assessment to their classes prior to the global setting being edited, will need to manually adjust their own classes' LockDown Browser level accordingly.
Use the "Assessment Window" section to define universal times for distribution and visibility across all teachers and classes. Teachers will be required to pre-schedule open and close times when assigning. When setting open and close times for their classes, teachers will be limited to assigning and collecting data only within the defined assessment window. This enhances data integrity for administrators by preventing additional data entry after a set date.
Please note: the Assessment Window does NOT set the open/close time on an actual assignment of the common assessment, those are defined by the assigning teachers for each of their classes separately.
Once done, click on the "Save Settings" button. A confirmation will appear at the bottom of your screen.
Set Permissions and Share a Common Assessment
There are multiple ways to share a Common Assessment with colleagues and provide with them with varying levels of permissions:
- Share Link (Individual teachers, Assign Only)Use "Copy Share Link" (under the 'Set permissions and Share' section) to share a direct link to the common assessment with individual colleagues. Teachers who receive the direct link, will be able to assign the common assessment to their students.
- Add collaborators (Individual teachers, Assign Only / Edit & Assign)Through the "Share" modal (click on the triple dot menu at the top right corner and choose "Share" from the dropdown menu)
From here you can add collaborators into your Common Assessment. Type the name or email address of each colleague and select the level of access permitted - Assign Only, or Edit & Assign.
Anyone with an Edit & Assign level of access to the common assessment can edit the assignment, add more collaborators and send the direct link to the common assessment to teachers within the organization.
- Share with Orgs (Team access, Assign Only, optional Data Access)Use the "Add Org" button to select full teams to share the Common Assessment with. When using this option, all members of the selected teams will automatically have the Common Assessment posted on their Activities list, and they will be granted assigning permissions.
Select an Org (team) from the dropdown menu. Teams will need to be added into your school or district Org hierarchy (via the Admin dashboard) in order to appear in this dropdown).
Org Data Access
Now that an Org has been selected for sharing, proceed to define what data the members of the Org will be able to see on this Common Assessment:
Default Data
Teachers will be able to view, review and grade student responses and results only for their own classes. Data from other teachers or schools will be completely hidden from them.
Anonymous Data SharingThis feature enables comparison of performance across buildings and district levels while maintaining privacy.
Teachers who are members of the selected Org (team) will be able see their own org, name, classes, and students.
Other orgs, teachers, classes, and students data will also be visible but anonymous (names hidden).
Teachers will not be able to turn off the anonymity.
Teachers who are members of the selected Org (team) can grade student responses across shared assessments, ensuring a comprehensive and collaborative approach to student evaluation.
Full Data Access
Ideal for districts with a high level of collaboration and transparency.
Teachers who are members of the selected Org (team)will be able to see all results across the district, from every teacher, class, and student - without anonymity.
Teachers who are members of the selected Org (team) can grade student responses across shared assessments, ensuring a comprehensive and collaborative approach to student evaluation.
📝 When to Use Each Setting
Scenario | Setting | What Happens |
Districts comfortable with open data sharing | Full Data Access | All data is visible to all participating teachers |
Districts testing out collaboration or prioritizing privacy | Anonymous Data Sharing | Teachers see anonymized data outside their own org |
Traditional setups focused on local data only | Regular Data Access | Teachers see only their own data, no cross-org comparison |
Visit the help article on our responses page for a detailed description of what a typical teacher would see.
Note: Anyone who has been provided with the direct link is grabbing a LIVE copy. That means that if the original author changes or updates the Common Assessment, those changes will be reflected immediately on the screen of all users who have a copy - including students currently taking the Common Assessment.
Create a Common Assessment from Scratch
When creating a new activity with the intention to tag it as a Common Assessments, teachers and administrators can either first create the activity and then tag it as Common Assessment following the steps above, or they can use a Quick Start button to initiate a new activity that is automatically tagged as a Common Assessment in just one click!
From your Home page, click on "Create +" (top right corner)
Select "Common Assessment" from the dropdown menu
The standard editor view of a new activity will open, with the Common Assessment toggle being automatically set to ON. Additionally, the Common Assessment Settings side panel will be open by default.
Proceed to adjust the Common Assessment per your preferences (as listed in steps 5-12 of the section above)
Note: a Common Assessment tag can not be removed.
How do I know the activity is tagged as a Common Assessment?
Once the activity has been tagged as a Common Assessment, the following indications will be added to signal that it is tagged as a Common Assessment:
Common Assessment icon on the activity's title
Common Assessment icon next to the activity's name on the Activities page
Indicaton on the "Share" modal
The activity will now also be added to the Admin Common Assessment dashboard, where admins of the organizations specified will be able to view results and different data points across their organization:
Navigating the Common Assessment Tab (Admin Feature)
As an Admin in a School & District licensed organization, accessing the "Common Assessments" section of your Admin tab will allow you to quickly and easily locate any activity tagged as a Common Assessment within your organization . The Common Assessments tab further allows you to view and track performance on these high-stake assessments across your organization. Click this linked article to learn how to navigate this powerful data tab!
NEW! Duplicate a Common Assessment
Admins and collaborators with 'Edit & Assign' permissions can now duplicate Common Assessments along with the previously entered Common Assessment settings to create new, fresh versions of the same test!
This new functionality allows admins to duplicate an individual Common Assessment, multiple Common Assessments in bulk, and even a Folder that hold several Common Assessments in it and preserve both the Common Assessment tag and the assessment settings of the copied activities, including Subject, Grade Level, Type, School Year, and any existing common assessment settings:
On your Activities page, check mark the Common Assessment(s) or the Folder of Common Assessments you wish to duplicate
Checkmark the box next to "Retain Assessment Settings"
Edit the Prefix and Suffix fields to your preference (these will appear on the titles of the new copies created
Complete the action by clicking on the "Copy" button
The new copies will immediately populate on your Activities screen
You can then click into the Common Assessment and adjust any settings to your liking, if needed
Q&A & Troubleshooting
🙋🏽♀️ Who can edit a Common Assessment?
The only people who can edit a Common Assessment is either the person who created it (aka the owner), or an admin for your organization, or collaborators with 'Edit & Assign' permissions.
🙋🏿♂️ Who can share a Common Assessment?
The only people who can share a Common Assessment are either the creator of the activity (aka the owner), an admin for the organization, or collaborators with 'Edit & Assign' permissions
🙋🏻 Who can duplicate a Common Assessment (make a copy)?
The only people who can duplicate (make a copy of) a Common Assessment are either the creator of the activity (aka the owner), an admin for the organization, or collaborators with 'Edit & Assign' permissions.
🙋🏻♀️ What if I edit the content of my Common Assessment?
If you edit your Common Assessment then those changes (to questions and content) would reflect immediately for all students and teachers. This would include students who have already been assigned the assessment. Be mindful that changing question types after students already provided responses will archive both the original question and the responses the students have provided (to restore, a user with editing permissions will need to follow the instructions here)
🙋🏿♂️ What if an Admin edits the content of my Common Assessment?
If an admin edits your Common Assessment then the changes (to questions and content) will reflect immediately. This would mean anyone who has been assigned the Common Assessment will see those changes as well. Be mindful that changing question types after students already provided responses will archive both the original question and the responses the students have provided (to restore, a user with editing permissions will need to follow the instructions here)
🙋🏻 What if there is an error in the answer key but students have already taken the Common Assessment?
Whoever has access to update the Common Assessment can go in and update the answer key, which will in turn retroactively update students grades.
🙋🏻♀️ What if I, or an Admin, edit the global Common Assessment Settings?
If you edit your Common Assessment Settings (i.e. Access, Grading Behavior, Display Behavior, LockDown Browser, etc.) then those changes would reflect for all students and teachers. However, if a Grading Behavior or LockDown Browser Common Assessment setting was originally set to a specific limiting option (for example, LockDown Browser was originally selected as 'High Security") and is then edited and changed to 'User Preference' - the change will not automatically adjust the assign settings for classes that have already been assigned the activity. Teachers who have assigned the activity prior to these settings changes, will need to manually adjust their own assign settings for each of the assigned classes for any changes to take place.
🙋🏽 Can I remove the Common Assessment tag?
No. Once a Common Assessment has been tagged, the tag can not be removed.
🙋🏿♂️ How can I ensure teachers I share a Common Assessment with will not duplicate, share or edit it?
To prevent teachers from duplicating, sharing or editing a Common Assessment, make sure they are granted 'Assign Only' permissions - either by providing them with the 'Assign' link, granting their Org assigning access, or adding them as collaborators with this specific permission to the Common Assessment.