Assessment in Support of Instruction and Learning

Assessment in Support of Instruction and Learning
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 77
Release: 2003-09-17
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0309166993

Assessment in Support of Instruction and Learning is the summary of a National Research Council workshop convened to examine the gap between external and classroom assessment. This report discusses issues associated with designing an assessment system that meets the demands of public accountability and, at the same time, improves the quality of the education that students receive day by day. This report focuses on assessment that addresses both accountability and learning.

Vocabulary Assessment to Support Instruction

Vocabulary Assessment to Support Instruction
Author: Margaret G. McKeown
Publisher: Guilford Publications
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2017-06-19
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1462530826

Vocabulary development is essential for learning, but conventional vocabulary assessments lack the range and flexibility to support K–12 classroom teachers in making instructional decisions. Drawing on linguistics, educational psychology, and educational measurement, this book offers a fresh perspective on word learning and describes powerful, precise assessment strategies. Guidelines are presented for selecting which words to teach, evaluating the depth and richness of students' word knowledge and their ability to apply it in complex contexts, designing effective instructional practices, and using technology to create adaptive and scalable assessments. User-friendly features include sample test items, classroom examples, a glossary, and suggested print and online resources.

Teaching on Assessment

Teaching on Assessment
Author: Sharon L. Nichols
Publisher: IAP
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2021-03-01
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1648024297

In an age where the quality of teacher education programs has been called into question, it is more important than ever that teachers have a fundamental understanding of the principles of human learning, motivation, and development. Theory to Practice: Educational Psychology for Teachers and Teaching is a series for those who teach educational psychology in teacher education programs. At a time when educational psychology is at risk of becoming marginalized, it is imperative that we, as educators, “walk our talk” in serving as models of what effective instruction looks like. Each volume in the series draws upon the latest research to help instructors model fundamental principles of learning, motivation, and development to best prepare their students for the diverse, multidimensional, uncertain, and socially-embedded environments in which these future educators will teach. The inaugural volume, Teaching on Assessment, is centered on the role of assessment in teaching and learning. Each chapter translates current research on critical topics in assessment for educational psychology instructors and teacher educators to consider in their teaching of future teachers. Written for practitioners, the aim is to present contemporary issues and ideas that would help teachers engage in meaningful assessment practice. This volume is important not only because of the dwindling presence of assessment-related instructional content in teacher preparation programs, but also because the policy changes in the last two decades have transformed the meaning and use of assessment in K-12 classrooms. Praise for Teaching on Assessment "This thought-provoking book brings together perspectives from educational psychology and teacher education to examine how assessment can best support student motivation, engagement, and learning. In the volume, editors Nichols and Varier present a set of chapters written by leaders in the field to examine critical questions about how to best prepare teachers to make instructional decisions, understand assessment within the context of learning and motivation theory, and draw on assessment in ways which can meet the needs of diverse learners. Written in a highly accessible language and style, each chapter contains clear takeaway messages designed for educational psychologists, teacher educators, teachers, and pre-service teachers. This book is essential reading for anyone involved in teaching or developing our future teaching professionals." Lois R. Harris, Australian Catholic University "This impressive book provides a wealth of contemporary and engaging resources, ideas and perspectives that educational psychology instructors will find relevant for helping students understand the complexity of assessment decision-making as an essential component of instruction. Traditional assessment principles are integrated with contemporary educational psychology research that will enhance prospective teachers’ decision-making about classroom assessments that promote all students’ learning and motivation. It is unique in showing how to best leverage both formative and summative assessment to boost student engagement and achievement, enabling students to understand how to integrate practical classroom constraints and realities with current knowledge about self-regulation, intrinsic motivation, and other psychological constructs that assessment needs to consider. The chapters are written by established experts who are able to effectively balance presentation of research and theory with practical applications. Notably, the volume includes very important topics rarely emphasized in other assessment texts, including assessment literacy frameworks, diversity, equity, assessment strategies for students with special needs, and data-driven decision making. The book will be an excellent supplement for educational psychology classes or for assessment courses, introducing students to current thinking about how to effectively integrate assessment with instruction." James McMillan, Virginia Commonwealth University.

Balanced Assessment Systems

Balanced Assessment Systems
Author: Steve Chappuis
Publisher: Corwin Press
Total Pages: 178
Release: 2016-07-20
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1506354211

Build a balanced assessment system and support ESSA requirements! The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) increases assessment flexibility and responsibilities for states and districts, and this comprehensive guide helps leaders meet and succeed that challenge. Authors Chappuis, Commodore and Stiggins have helped thousands of teachers, principals and other educational leaders in becoming assessment-literate and developing assessment systems built on quality assessment. Readers will learn how to: Develop balance in an assessment system by combining formative and summative approaches, providing insight on students’ progress Strengthen classroom-based assessment and involve students in self-assessment

Knowing What Students Know

Knowing What Students Know
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 383
Release: 2001-10-27
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0309293227

Education is a hot topic. From the stage of presidential debates to tonight's dinner table, it is an issue that most Americans are deeply concerned about. While there are many strategies for improving the educational process, we need a way to find out what works and what doesn't work as well. Educational assessment seeks to determine just how well students are learning and is an integral part of our quest for improved education. The nation is pinning greater expectations on educational assessment than ever before. We look to these assessment tools when documenting whether students and institutions are truly meeting education goals. But we must stop and ask a crucial question: What kind of assessment is most effective? At a time when traditional testing is subject to increasing criticism, research suggests that new, exciting approaches to assessment may be on the horizon. Advances in the sciences of how people learn and how to measure such learning offer the hope of developing new kinds of assessments-assessments that help students succeed in school by making as clear as possible the nature of their accomplishments and the progress of their learning. Knowing What Students Know essentially explains how expanding knowledge in the scientific fields of human learning and educational measurement can form the foundations of an improved approach to assessment. These advances suggest ways that the targets of assessment-what students know and how well they know it-as well as the methods used to make inferences about student learning can be made more valid and instructionally useful. Principles for designing and using these new kinds of assessments are presented, and examples are used to illustrate the principles. Implications for policy, practice, and research are also explored. With the promise of a productive research-based approach to assessment of student learning, Knowing What Students Know will be important to education administrators, assessment designers, teachers and teacher educators, and education advocates.

Classroom Assessment and the National Science Education Standards

Classroom Assessment and the National Science Education Standards
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 129
Release: 2001-08-12
Genre: Education
ISBN: 030906998X

The National Science Education Standards address not only what students should learn about science but also how their learning should be assessed. How do we know what they know? This accompanying volume to the Standards focuses on a key kind of assessment: the evaluation that occurs regularly in the classroom, by the teacher and his or her students as interacting participants. As students conduct experiments, for example, the teacher circulates around the room and asks individuals about their findings, using the feedback to adjust lessons plans and take other actions to boost learning. Focusing on the teacher as the primary player in assessment, the book offers assessment guidelines and explores how they can be adapted to the individual classroom. It features examples, definitions, illustrative vignettes, and practical suggestions to help teachers obtain the greatest benefit from this daily evaluation and tailoring process. The volume discusses how classroom assessment differs from conventional testing and grading-and how it fits into the larger, comprehensive assessment system.

Assessment as Learning

Assessment as Learning
Author: Lorna M. Earl
Publisher: Corwin Press
Total Pages: 161
Release: 2013
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1452242976

This is a book for teachers and school leaders on formative assessment i.e., assessment as learning where assessment occurs throughout the learning process to inform learning as opposed to assessment that occurs at the end of a learning unit to measure what students have learned (summative assessment). Formative assessment emphasizes the role of the student, not only as a contributor to the assessment and learning process, but the critical connector between them. It defines assessment of learning, assessment for learning and assessment as learning, making a case for assessment as learning. It addresses assessment in the context of what learning is. It shows how to use formative assessment to motivate student learning, help students make connections so that they move from emergent to proficient, extend their learning and to help them become reflective self-regulators of their own learning. It explores how teachers can make the shift to formative assessment by engaging in conceptual change.

Assessment of Teaching and Learning

Assessment of Teaching and Learning
Author: Gerald F. Hess
Publisher: Carolina Academic Press LLC
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2020
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9781611631302

"This book discusses every aspect of assessment from the broad topics of creating a culture of assessment and the institutional assessment process to the more specific topics of assessing student learning at the course and program levels and assessing teaching effectiveness. The book models assessment at the institutional level, the course level, and throughout the law school (experiential learning programs, legal writing courses, centers and concentrations, extracurricular activities, non-academic offices). In addition to explaining the assessment process generally and in a variety of specific contexts, this book provides example assessment documents and tools that law schools can adapt as necessary. Moreover, the book offers suggestions for law schools on peer, student, and self-assessment of teaching effectiveness, both formative (ongoing teaching development) and summative (personnel decisions). Administrators, new professors, and seasoned professors will find guidance and advice on all aspects of assessing teaching and student learning"--

How Learning Works

How Learning Works
Author: Susan A. Ambrose
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2010-04-16
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0470617608

Praise for How Learning Works "How Learning Works is the perfect title for this excellent book. Drawing upon new research in psychology, education, and cognitive science, the authors have demystified a complex topic into clear explanations of seven powerful learning principles. Full of great ideas and practical suggestions, all based on solid research evidence, this book is essential reading for instructors at all levels who wish to improve their students' learning." —Barbara Gross Davis, assistant vice chancellor for educational development, University of California, Berkeley, and author, Tools for Teaching "This book is a must-read for every instructor, new or experienced. Although I have been teaching for almost thirty years, as I read this book I found myself resonating with many of its ideas, and I discovered new ways of thinking about teaching." —Eugenia T. Paulus, professor of chemistry, North Hennepin Community College, and 2008 U.S. Community Colleges Professor of the Year from The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education "Thank you Carnegie Mellon for making accessible what has previously been inaccessible to those of us who are not learning scientists. Your focus on the essence of learning combined with concrete examples of the daily challenges of teaching and clear tactical strategies for faculty to consider is a welcome work. I will recommend this book to all my colleagues." —Catherine M. Casserly, senior partner, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching "As you read about each of the seven basic learning principles in this book, you will find advice that is grounded in learning theory, based on research evidence, relevant to college teaching, and easy to understand. The authors have extensive knowledge and experience in applying the science of learning to college teaching, and they graciously share it with you in this organized and readable book." —From the Foreword by Richard E. Mayer, professor of psychology, University of California, Santa Barbara; coauthor, e-Learning and the Science of Instruction; and author, Multimedia Learning

Seeing Students Learn Science

Seeing Students Learn Science
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 137
Release: 2017-03-24
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0309444357

Science educators in the United States are adapting to a new vision of how students learn science. Children are natural explorers and their observations and intuitions about the world around them are the foundation for science learning. Unfortunately, the way science has been taught in the United States has not always taken advantage of those attributes. Some students who successfully complete their Kâ€"12 science classes have not really had the chance to "do" science for themselves in ways that harness their natural curiosity and understanding of the world around them. The introduction of the Next Generation Science Standards led many states, schools, and districts to change curricula, instruction, and professional development to align with the standards. Therefore existing assessmentsâ€"whatever their purposeâ€"cannot be used to measure the full range of activities and interactions happening in science classrooms that have adapted to these ideas because they were not designed to do so. Seeing Students Learn Science is meant to help educators improve their understanding of how students learn science and guide the adaptation of their instruction and approach to assessment. It includes examples of innovative assessment formats, ways to embed assessments in engaging classroom activities, and ideas for interpreting and using novel kinds of assessment information. It provides ideas and questions educators can use to reflect on what they can adapt right away and what they can work toward more gradually.