This timeline is concerned with Dynamic Assessment (henceforth, DA) as it has been taken up and elaborated in contexts involving the teaching, learning, and assessment of learners of second languages (L2s). DA is distinguished by its insistence that an individual's independent performance of assessment tasks reveals only part of his/her abilities,…

In this book Bill Hanlon provides examples and recommends highly effective and practical instructional and assessment strategies that classroom teachers can immediately implement and that school administrators can readily observe. These high yield strategies build on accepted practices and directly address the needs of struggling students or…

High-stakes testing gets a lot of criticism, for good reason. But, when done right, assessment can be a valuable tool for educators and students. Kim Marshall describes how different types of assessments can improve learning by revealing learning problems in real time, improving student retention through the "retrieval effect," and…

Planning language and literacy instruction and supplemental intervention for English Learners (ELs) in bilingual education programs begins by assessing their current performance, strengths, and needs. However, current functioning must be interpreted in relation to past performance and the nature and quality of instruction students have received…

This guidance report focuses on the teaching of mathematics to pupils in Key Stages 2 and 3. It is not intended to provide a comprehensive guide to mathematics teaching. We have made recommendations where there are research findings that schools can use to make a significant difference to pupils' learning, and have focused on the questions that…

The term "intensive intervention" is not commonly understood, and variations abound in the literature regarding both its definition and implementation. This document introduces and describes the data-based individualization (DBI) process, a framework for addressing the needs of students who require intensive intervention in academics…

This book presents a schoolwide model of instructional support designed to make the most of available time, resources, and personnel--one that is also fully compatible with other problem-solving models, such as response to intervention. The authors provide a comprehensive and cohesive framework for linking assessment and intervention. They show…

Assessing whether or not students learn what they are supposed to has long been part of the educational process, encouraged even more in recent years by mandates to meet federal No Child Left Behind requirements and state achievement standards. But unlike summative assessments, which rely mostly on end-of-year test scores to gauge student…

Response to intervention (RTI) program is a tiered process of implementing evidence-based instructional strategies in the regular education setting and frequently measuring the student's progress to determine whether these strategies are effective. The use of RTI methods as part of a comprehensive system to address student learning difficulties…

Without a carefully designed plan for the provision of students with English as an additional language (EAL), educators may feel overwhelmed by the complexities of teaching such students. Educators may attribute poorer academic outcomes of some students with EAL to learning difficulties without first considering how they might adapt their teaching…

There are many environmental and personal factors that contribute to reading success. Reading comprehension is a complex interaction of language, sensory perception, memory, and motivational aspects. However, most existing assessment tools have not adequately reflected the complex nature of reading comprehension. Good assessment requires a…

At least 60% of children with disabilities have multiple disabilities including visual impairments (VI). Because the visual system is neurologically based, any problems of the neurological system will also likely affect vision. The estimated number of students with VI and additional disabilities has increased significantly over the years. Since…

Meeting a key need, this is the first comprehensive guide to implementing a schoolwide response to intervention (RTI) program. The book is geared to helping practitioners understand and respond to No Child Left Behind and to the new special education eligibility guidelines outlined in IDEIA 2004. Presented are the theoretical and empirical…

A variety of testing methods can be extremely useful in finding out whether children who are experiencing learning difficulties may have one or more learning disabilities. This is an important and valuable role for testing. Another important issue concerns how best to ensure fairness for a learning disabled student when he or she must take a…

A computer-based interactive system for diagnosing academic and school behavior problems is described. Elements include criterion-referenced testing, an instructional management system, and a behavior evaluation tool developed by the author. (JW)