D184: Standards-Based Assessment

Standards-Based Assessment builds the analytical skill of unpacking a standard into what should actually be assessed — and turning that into a genuine, holistic assessment system.

What D184 covers

The course teaches candidates how to unpack academic standards to determine the essential learnings within the standards that should be assessed, and how to determine which topics should be assessed and use proficiency statements to create and score standards-based assessments.

This course also prepares students to analyze assessment data and develop a holistic assessment system for a specific subject and grade level. Differentiated Instruction is a prerequisite for this course.

The D184 performance assessment

Expect a performance assessment requiring you to unpack a given academic standard and design a holistic assessment system for a specific subject and grade level.

Key topics in D184

• Unpacking academic standards
• Proficiency statements for scoring
• Holistic assessment system design

Writing tips for D184

Follow the task instructions and rubric line by line

WGU performance assessments for D184 are graded against a fixed rubric — every rubric line has to be visibly addressed, usually with a labeled heading that mirrors the rubric language. Skipping a rubric point because it seems minor is the single most common reason a competent submission comes back "Not Yet Competent" for revision.

Ground curriculum recommendations in a specific grade level and subject

Curriculum and Instruction courses like D184 typically ask you to apply design principles to a specific grade level, subject, and student population rather than write about curriculum design in the abstract. Evaluators are checking whether your reasoning fits that concrete classroom situation.

Because WGU is self-paced, don't let "no deadline pressure" become no submission

There's no weekly due date forcing progress, which means procrastination costs more at WGU than at a traditional term-based school — a stalled task can quietly eat weeks of a term. Treat your own target date for each D184 assessment as a real deadline.

Why students seek help with D184

Candidates sometimes design assessment items without first unpacking the standard into its essential learnings — the rubric typically wants that unpacking step shown explicitly before the assessment items are built.

How GradeEssays helps with D184

Share your standard and rubric, and your writer will build the assessment system starting with genuine standard-unpacking, not assessment items built without that foundational step.

Prerequisites and program context

D184 requires Differentiated Instruction (D187) as a prerequisite.

• Master of Science, Curriculum and Instruction

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