How to Develop the Three Rounds of Assessment Task Effectively

Designing effective assessments is one of the biggest challenges for teachers today. If you’ve ever wondered whether your quizzes, performance tasks, or activities truly reflect what your students should be learning, you’re not alone. The key is content validity—making sure the tasks you give are directly aligned with the learning competencies outlined in the curriculum.

In this guide, we’ll walk through how to create the three rounds of assessment tasks—before, during, and after instruction—while ensuring they measure exactly what your learners need to achieve. Whether you’re a new teacher or an experienced educator updating your strategies, this will help you build assessment tasks that are reliable, valid, and student-centered.

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Why Three Rounds of Assessment Matter

Think of assessment as a journey, not a one-time event. Learners need checkpoints at different stages to show what they know, what they can do, and how much they’ve grown. The three rounds of assessment are designed to:

1. Round 1 – Diagnostic/Pre-Assessment: Gauge what students already know before teaching.

2. Round 2 – Formative/Progress Assessment: Track learning while instruction is ongoing.

3. Round 3 – Summative/Post-Assessment: Measure mastery of competencies at the end.

When these rounds are aligned to competencies, you’re not just giving “tests”—you’re validating learning and making sure no student is left behind.

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Step 1: Aligning Assessment with Learning Competency

Here’s where many teachers go wrong: giving tests that don’t match what learners are supposed to demonstrate. For example:

• If the competency says: “Demonstrate sewing using running stitch”
  ✅ Assessment: Students actually sew a fabric using running stitch.
  ❌ NOT an assessment: Asking students to list types of stitches.

• If the competency says: “Classify matter that absorbs water, sinks, floats, and decays”
  ✅ Assessment: Students classify given materials through written or practical activity.
  ❌ NOT an assessment: Asking them to define “solid, liquid, gas.”

This is called constructive alignment—making sure that what you assess is exactly what the competency asks.

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Step 2: Choosing the Right Form of Assessment

Not all assessments are created equal. The competency itself usually dictates whether to use a written assessment or a performance-based assessment:

Written Assessment

• Best for: identification, classification, computation, multiple choice

• Response type: single correct answer

• Example: “Write on the blank if oxygen is solid, liquid, or gas.”

Performance-Based Assessment

• Best for: writing, constructing, creating, demonstrating skills

• Response type: varied, subjective, creative

• Example: “Write and present your own compound and complex sentences.”

By carefully matching the assessment form to the competency, you maintain validity and fairness.

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Step 3: Designing the Three Rounds of Assessment

Here’s a practical template you can follow:

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Round 1: Diagnostic (Before Instruction)

• Learning Competency: Classify matter as solid, liquid, or gas

• 21st Century Skill: Critical thinking

• Task: Written (2–3 items)

• Sample Items:

  1. Write if the following is solid, liquid, or gas:

     • Oxygen

     • Juice

     • Rock

  2. Match the material to its correct state.

Interpretation:

• 0–1 → Beginner (few competencies met)

• 2 → Basic (about half met)

• 3 → Competent (majority met)

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Round 2: Formative (During Instruction)

• Learning Competency: Write word problems involving decimals

• 21st Century Skill: Creativity, problem-solving

• Task: Performance-based (1 practice task)

• Sample Task: Create one original word problem involving decimal addition and subtraction.

Checklist Criteria:

• Problem is complete and clear

• Numbers are realistic

• Correct use of decimals

Interpretation: Same Beginner–Basic–Competent scale.

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Round 3: Summative (After Instruction)

• Learning Competency: Write compound and complex sentences

• 21st Century Skill: Communication, collaboration

• Task: Performance-based (1 practice task)

• Sample Task: Write 5 original sentences: 3 compound and 2 complex.

Rubric Criteria:

• Correct grammar and punctuation

• Proper use of conjunctions

• Sentences show complete thought

Interpretation: Same scoring scale.

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Tips for Teachers When Developing Assessment Tasks

• Always start with the competency: Let it dictate what form your assessment takes.

• Avoid “misaligned” tests: Don’t ask for definitions when the skill requires performance.

• Use rubrics/checklists: Especially for performance-based tasks, to ensure fairness.

• Record and plan: Use learner progress charts to identify who needs remediation or enrichment.

• Think of real-life context: Make assessments meaningful so students see relevance.

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Conclusion & Call-to-Action

Creating three rounds of assessment tasks isn’t just about filling out forms—it’s about ensuring students actually learn what they’re meant to. By aligning tasks with competencies, choosing the right assessment form, and using clear rubrics, you’re making your classroom a place where assessments drive growth—not fear.

👉 How do you design your assessments? Share your thoughts in the comments or tag a teacher friend who might find this helpful!