Most institutions are adopting standards-based assessment as part of the reforms in education. Standards-based assessment refers to determining the performance or outcomes of a student based on pre-determined standards (McMillan, 2008). The first thing in this assessment is setting new and high standards that every student should meet. The next step involves aligning the curriculum to the standards and finally assessing the students to find out if they meet the standards. This reform aims at assessing the students based on a set standard, which each student can meet rather than ranking all students where some students are seen as failures. Standards-based assessment eliminates the achievement gap and introduces new ways of assessment. This paper describes the standards-based assessment grading criteria, reporting tools, and reporting forms. The paper also gives suggestions on ways to improve the current practices.
