Secure assessment

Unseen / Novel Problem

Students encounter a problem, scenario or dataset they have not previously seen and must apply their knowledge to it.

Making Thinking Visible routines

Think–Puzzle–Explore reveals how students initially frame an unfamiliar problem.
The Explanation Game exposes how explanations develop.

Secure assessment

Annotated Artefact

Students submit the artefact together with annotations explaining significant choices, decisions, evidence or revisions.

Making Thinking Visible routines

Claim–Support–Question links decisions to evidence.
What Makes You Say That? prompts explanation of why particular choices were made.

Secure assessment

Authentic Scenario

Give students a realistic, contextualised problem requiring judgement rather than reproduction of a known answer.

Making Thinking Visible routines

Compass Points exposes considerations informing a decision.
Circle of Viewpoints reveals understanding of different stakeholders.

Secure assessment

Error Analysis / Debugging

Give students flawed work, code, reasoning, data or a solution and ask them to diagnose, explain and correct it.

Making Thinking Visible routines

See–Think–Wonder supports careful diagnosis.
The Explanation Game exposes hypotheses about why the problem occurred.

Secure assessment

Iterative Submission

Students submit work at meaningful stages and respond to feedback before producing the final version.

Making Thinking Visible routines

I Used to Think… Now I Think… captures changing understanding.
Connect–Extend–Challenge reveals what feedback or experience changed their thinking.

Secure assessment

Process Portfolio

Students retain evidence of how work developed: drafts, iterations, decisions, tests, failures, feedback and revisions.

Making Thinking Visible routines

I Used to Think… Now I Think… captures changes in understanding.
3–2–1 Bridge can compare thinking at different stages.

Secure assessment

Personalised Application

Students apply concepts to a unique context, dataset, case, artefact, experience or problem.

Making Thinking Visible routines

Connect–Extend–Challenge reveals how knowledge transfers to the new context.
Claim–Support–Question exposes reasoning behind the application.

Secure assessment

Live Demonstration

Students perform a task, use a tool, build something, solve a problem or demonstrate a technique while their process can be observed.

Making Thinking Visible routines

What Makes You Say That? Ask students to explain decisions during or immediately after the demonstration.
Claim–Support–Question can expose the reasoning behind their chosen approach.

Secure assessment

Reflective Defence

Students identify important decisions, difficulties, mistakes or changes and explain what they learned from them. Reflection must refer to specific evidence from their work.

Making Thinking Visible routines

I Used to Think… Now I Think… makes conceptual change explicit.
The 4 Cs supports structured reflection on learning.

Secure assessment

Compare Alternatives

Students examine two or more solutions, designs, approaches or interpretations and determine which is preferable under particular conditions.

Making Thinking Visible routines

Compass Points helps examine trade-offs.
Claim–Support–Question makes the final judgement and its evidence visible.

Secure assessment

Design + Justification

Students create a solution, system, product or design and explicitly justify significant design choices and trade-offs.

Making Thinking Visible routines

Claim–Support–Question connects design choices to evidence.
Compass Points exposes competing requirements and trade-offs.

Secure assessment

In-Class Creation + Follow-Up

Students create part of an artefact under observed conditions, then extend or refine it independently. Their later work must connect explicitly to the observed work.

Making Thinking Visible routines

3–2–1 Bridge can connect thinking across stages.
Connect–Extend–Challenge exposes how the student's thinking developed beyond the initial work.

Secure assessment

Critique and Defend

Students critique an example, solution, design, argument or artefact and defend their evaluation.

Making Thinking Visible routines

Claim–Support–Question structures the critique.
What Makes You Say That? requires students to justify their judgement with evidence.

Secure assessment

Interactive Presentation

Students present their work and respond to questions, challenges or changed conditions rather than delivering only a rehearsed presentation.

Making Thinking Visible routines

Headlines can require students to identify the central idea.
What Makes You Say That? probes reasoning behind claims made during the presentation.

Secure assessment

Oral Explanation / Viva

Students explain, defend or elaborate on submitted work in a short conversation. Questions can probe decisions, concepts and alternatives.

Making Thinking Visible routines

What Makes You Say That? Probe the basis of answers.
Connect–Extend–Challenge can explore how the student's understanding developed.

Secure assessment

Observed Problem Solving

Students work through an unfamiliar problem while their approach is observed or recorded. The process matters as much as the final answer.

Making Thinking Visible routines

The Explanation Game exposes developing explanations.
What Makes You Say That? reveals the reasoning behind each step.