A Teacher's Guide to Classroom Assessment Understanding and Using Assessment to Improve Student Learning

Based on extensive research, this book is filled with illustrative, down-to-earth examples of how classroom assessment works in classrooms where assessment drives the instruction. The authors present the Classroom Assessment Cycle?Clarifying learning targets, Collecting assessment evidence, Analyzing assessment data, and Modifying instruction based upon assessment data?that demonstrates how one assessment action must flow into the next to be effective. Each chapter details the kinds of assessment evidence that are the most useful for determining student achievement and provides instruction in the analysis of assessment data.

Figures, Tables, and Exhibits ix

Foreword xiii
Ken O’Connor

Preface xvii

Acknowledgments xxi

About the Authors xxiii

Introduction: Assessment for Classroom Learning xxv

1. Understanding the Varieties of Assessment 1

Part One Clarifying Learning Targets 13

2. Unpacking Standards and Benchmarks 15

3. Defining Student Expectations 31

Part Two Gathering Assessment Evidence 43

4. Understanding and Selecting Assessment Methods 45

5. Written Product, Portfolio, and Project Assessments 63

6. Designing Quality Classroom Assessment Tasks 77

7. Creating Useful Scoring Guides 93

Part Three Making Sense of Assessment Data 111

8. Tracking and Analyzing Results 113

Part Four Linking Assessment to Instruction 129

9. Revising Feedback and Instructional Plans 131

10. Using Assessment to Motivate Students 159

Part Five Related Assessment Factors 175

11. Rethinking Grading Practices 177

12. Challenges of High-Stakes Assessment 197

Conclusion: An Appeal for Change 213

Appendix: Reflection and Discussion Questions 219

References 229

Index 237

THE AUTHORS

SUSAN M. BUTLER, PH.D. is a faculty member in teacher education at Gulf Coast Community College in Panama City, Florida. Formerly, she was senior program specialist in classroom assessment for the Assessment, Accountability, and Standards program of the Regional Educational Laboratory housed at the SERVE Center, University of North Carolina, Greensboro. NANCY D. MCMUNN is project director for classroom assessment for the Assessment, Accountability, and Standards program for the Regional Educational Laboratory housed at the SERVE Center, University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Both authors are former classroom teachers.