Assessment in my PBL unit on Heroism is weighted heavily on  assessment FOR learning strategies in order to provide students with opportunities for self reflection and inquiry. Assessment for learning encourages self analysis and provides motivation and the spark for students to strive to learn and do more. Providing students with clear criteria in the form of a rubric allows students to consider their own work against benchmarks of achievement. By providing opportunities for peer and teacher feedback throughout the process, students develop a sense of importance in the project while encouraging drafting and revisions. A well crafted set of assessments can motivate students to learn and is not simply a yard stick for measuring what they have learned.

The summative assessment I have built for this project is a rubric that sets out standards for all elements of the development, production and presentation of the final project which is the biographical documentary on their chosen hero. This allows students to know, going into production what the benchmarks for success are and motivates them to reach the highest levels. However, the creation of the artifact does not truly represent the ultimate goal of this unit which is really illustrated in the driving question:  What inspires ordinary people to do heroic deeds? It is through the creation of this video that hopefully reveals the answers to the students and also forces them to question themselves, asking Do I have a hero within me?