Backward design begins with the standard or learning target and designs what first?

• A. Assessments first, then instructional activities.
• B. Activities and materials.
• C. Student preferences.
• D. Classroom environment.

Answer: (A)

Backward design starts with identifying what students should know and be able to do, then you determine how you’ll know they’ve learned it by designing assessments that align with those targets. Once the evidence of learning is planned, you design the instructional activities and materials that will prepare students to demonstrate that learning. This alignment ensures every part of instruction points toward the same outcomes. Options that focus on activities first or on preferences or the classroom environment don’t establish the necessary evidence of learning first, so they don’t fit the backward design approach.