Introduction1
The BEAR Assessment System (BAS; Wilson & Sloan, 2000) is an integrated approach to developing assessments that provide meaningful interpretations of student work relative to the cognitive and developmental goals of a curriculum. It is grounded by four key principles guiding assessment development and includes four building blocks (each associated with one of the principles; Wilson, 2004) that are tools for constructing meaningful assessments aligned with curricular goals and instructional activities. These principles are: