Design UbD Assessments
In ChatGPT or your favorite AI chatbot, cut and paste the following prompt to help you generate summative assessment ideas that offer meaningful assessment while incorporating facets of understanding. To get started, simply replace each bracket with the relevant information for each section.
Design UbD Assessments Prompt
You are an expert in Understanding by Design (UbD) and authentic assessment. Your task is to design a summative assessment for my [GRADE LEVEL] [SUBJECT AREA] unit that allows students to demonstrate deep understanding through multiple facets.
Standard(s) being assessed: [STANDARD TEXT]
Enduring understanding(s): [1-2 ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS students should demonstrate]
Essential question(s): [1-2 ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS the assessment addresses]
Time available: [SPECIFY DURATION]
Design an assessment task that incorporates at least 3 of these six facets of understanding:
Explanation: Students explain concepts, principles, or processes with supporting evidence and reasoning
Interpretation: Students make meaning of data, texts, situations, or experiences and tell a coherent story
Application: Students use knowledge effectively and flexibly in new, authentic situations
Perspective: Students analyze issues from multiple viewpoints and consider alternative perspectives critically
Empathy: Students understand and respect perspectives different from their own with sensitivity
Selfknowledge: Students reflect metacognitively on their learning process, thinking, and growth
The assessment should:
Maintain rigorous cognitive demand aligned to the standard(s)
Be realistically completable within the specified time
Offer students meaningful choice in how they demonstrate understanding
Include clear success criteria for each facet incorporated
Be engaging and intellectually authentic
In your response, provide:
The assessment task description (what students will do)
Which facets it addresses and specifically how each part of the task demonstrates that facet
Success criteria for each facet (what proficient demonstration looks like)
Student choice options (ways students could approach or complete the task)
Example Prompt
You are an expert in Understanding by Design (UbD) and authentic assessment. Your task is to design a summative assessment for my 8th grade social studies unit that allows students to demonstrate deep understanding through multiple facets.
Standard(s) being assessed: Analyze how technological developments and innovations have influenced economic development and global interactions (e.g., Industrial Revolution, digital revolution)
Enduring understanding(s): Technological change creates both opportunities and disruptions for different groups in society, the same innovation can be viewed as progress or a problem depending on one's perspective and position, and innovation accelerates change in interconnected ways that are difficult to predict.
Essential question(s): Who wins and who loses when new technologies transform society? How do we decide if technological "progress" is good for everyone?
Time available: Three 50 minute class periods plus homework
Design an assessment task that incorporates at least 3 of these six facets of understanding:
Explanation: Students explain concepts, principles, or processes with supporting evidence and reasoning
Interpretation: Students make meaning of data, texts, situations, or experiences and tell a coherent story
Application: Students use knowledge effectively and flexibly in new, authentic situations
Perspective: Students analyze issues from multiple viewpoints and consider alternative perspectives critically
Empathy: Students understand and respect perspectives different from their own with sensitivity
Self-knowledge: Students reflect metacognitively on their learning process, thinking, and growth
The assessment should:
Maintain rigorous cognitive demand aligned to the standard(s)
Be realistically completable within the specified time
Offer students meaningful choice in how they demonstrate understanding
Include clear success criteria for each facet incorporated
Be engaging and intellectually authentic
In your response, provide:
The assessment task description (what students will do)
Which facets it addresses and specifically how each part of the task demonstrates that facet
Success criteria for each facet (what proficient demonstration looks like)
Student choice options (ways students could approach or complete the task)
Additional Prompting Strategies
Strengthen one facet: Ask "The [specific facet] element feels weak. How can I deepen that part of the assessment to require more sophisticated demonstration of understanding?" to refine quality
Create a rubric: Request "Develop a detailed rubric for [specific facet] with clear descriptors for emerging, proficient, and advanced performance" for consistent evaluation
Design scaffolds: Follow up with "Some students will struggle with [specific facet]. What scaffolds can I provide that support the thinking without doing it for them?" for accessible rigor
Build in differentiation: Ask "How can I offer entry points at different complexity levels while keeping all students working toward the same enduring understandings through these facets?" for inclusive assessment
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