9553598 Katims The PACKETS Program is a system of classroom-based performance activities to be planned, designed, implemented, and delivered by the Educational Testing Service over a two year period. These authentic assessment activities will promote learning and document that learning concurrently. The two major goals of PACKETS are to develop a model PACKETS program for students in grades 3-5 and to arrange for dissemination of the materials to reach as many classrooms as possible. The development process is designed to ensure that the materials work well in a variety of classrooms, with students and teachers from diverse backgrounds. The process will include cycles of piloting, field-testing, and revising, relying heavily on input from teachers, students, and other practitioners. Major national educational improvement efforts, including the Systemic Initiatives and the National Standards movement, place a high priority on integrating assessment strategies with instruction. As a result of this project, upper elementary teachers will have exemplary models of how to integrate assessment with instruction, engaging their students in meaningful, complex, and mathematically rich problems as a part of their regular instructional programs.
