Assessments are a way for stakeholders in education to understand what students know and can do. They can take many forms, including but not limited to paper and pencil or computer-adaptive formats. However, assessments do not have to be tests in the traditional sense at all; rather, they can be carried out through teacher observations of students…

Based on the results of a generalizability study of measures of teacher knowledge for teaching mathematics developed at the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing at the University of California, Los Angeles, this article provides evidence that teachers are better at drawing reasonable inferences about student…

In many school districts, the pressure to raise test scores has created overnight celebrity status for formative assessment. Its powers to raise student achievement have been touted, however, without attending to the research on which these claims were based. Sociocultural learning theory provides theoretical grounding for understanding how…

Educational measurement is presented as integral to the process of entering into and guiding conversations in which teachers and students participate. A measurement model patterned on the playful, interactive back-and-forth motion of conversation could aid in overcoming problems in teacher-student interactions. According to H. G. Gadamer,…

The bond that links quality assessment and effective teaching is clarified for North Carolina teachers in the context of the state's continued emphasis on effective schooling. This manual begins a statewide effort to promote assessment literacy among educators. It is emphasized that no single type of assessment can meet all of the purposes of…

This digest presents eight questions that pertain to how standards-based education affects classroom instruction and assessment at the local level. Various options and recommendations are provided to help education officials determine the practical concerns of standards-based education. The following questions are explored: (1) where will the…

Portfolios can demonstrate student mastery of material and their work with concepts and content, as well as their ability to link material with other knowledge. Portfolios can closely relate what students learn to what teachers believe they teach. The decision to use portfolios requires planning, professional development, decision making, and a…

This book is intended to introduce the classroom teacher and prospective teacher to the elements of measurement and assessment that are essential to good teaching. The main theme is that assessment plays an important role in the instructional process. This edition has been revised to reflect major changes in educational assessment since the last…

This paper describes what teachers need to know about performance assessment to do it well. First, they should know what performance assessment is and why anyone should care. One thing that has to be emphasized is that there are two parts to a performance assessment: the tasks and the criteria. Teachers tend to be better at developing rich and…

This book is designed to align assessment with instructional practices that promote the development of the multiple intelligences outlined by Howard Gardner. To facilitate the use of multiple assessments for the multiple intelligences, the information in this book is transferable to the classroom. The book explains how a teacher can design…

This report describes a program for improving students' depth of understanding through the use of alternative assessment. The targeted population consisted of students at one elementary, one junior high, and two high schools in two growing middle class communities in northern Illinois. Lack of student understanding was documented through teacher…

The handbook addresses the assessment of student performance and the establishment of criteria by which to measure student progress in six domains within science: (1) Concepts; (2) Processes; (3) Applications; (4) Attitude; (5) Nature of Science; and (6) Creativity. Each domain is defined, and a rationale is provided for assessing student learning…

This book is designed to help educators consider how assessment relates to instruction and recognize how assessment affects student learning. It intends to encourage teachers to establish a climate in which students can safely seek and use assessment information. A basic assumption is that learning occurs best in a positive setting, one that…

Noting that use of the reading-related components of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) by state education agencies has ranged from extensive to moderate to limited, this paper presents case studies of the ways in which states have used the NAEP models. The first half of the paper describes extensive use by Minnesota and…

This book is designed to provide prospective and practicing teachers with: (1) a concise presentation of assessment principles that clearly and specifically relate to instruction, (2) current research in the field, and (3) practical and realistic examples of assessment and suggestions for assessment built into the instructional process. The book…