A training course grounded in the principles of authentic assessment was implemented with 24 academics from two Chilean universities. Through a single-group pre-test/post-test design, the change in the evaluated parameters was analysed to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the conducted training. By the end of the course, the assessments…

The current emphasis on data-based decision-making ties discussions of accountability, school improvement and educational reform to the notion that gathering and using evidence addresses questions of rigor in our schools and classrooms. The purpose of this research was to survey secondary (middle and high school) general educators (n = 126) to…

This study had attempted to investigate assessment practices and factors for grade 8 students score disparity in Regional versus Teacher-made exams, from 2015 in Bench Maji Zone primary schools. In doing so, a descriptive survey method was employed. A sample of 185 stakeholders composed of 58 teachers, 101 students, 14 principals, 11 Woreda…

This descriptive study examines online assessment strategies employed by preservice teacher candidates when creating thematic learning experiences in online teaching environments. Using the learning management system Moodle as part of their innovative training, this review of a sample of 395 candidate-created instructional units across all grades…

This handbook gives teachers, reading specialists, administrators, or students concise, up-to-date information on the most popular assessment and evaluation tools in literacy. This second edition retains many of the tools reviewed in the first edition and adds 12 new tools. The first section reviews 24 tools that are teacher-made. The second…

The premise of this book is that the primary purpose of classroom assessment is to inform teaching and improve learning, not to sort and select students or to justify a grade. The common principles of effective assessment are covered, and the strengths and limitations of a variety of effective approaches are reviewed. Vignettes illustrate…

Based on the concept that the natural way of learning is by making mistakes in which immediate self-correction takes place, this booklet discuses how teachers can develop their own sequential spelling tests. The booklet discusses the five steps in giving a sequential spelling test (read the word aloud, students repeat the word, students attempt to…

Argues that process-oriented evaluation of children's literacy by the classroom teacher is more efficient and more instructionally valid than current test-driven evaluation procedures. (FL)

Introduces a technique for comprehension assessment that allows teachers who have had only a moderate amount of training to develop tests that are valid, reliable, and interpretable. Notes that the procedure can be based on any text without an extended tryout and revision process. (FL)

Classroom assessment is how teachers find out how well students are learning. It is important because teachers need a lot of information for the decisions they have to make. It can take many forms, such as paper and pencil assessments, performance assessments, conversations, or observations. Classroom assessments are built on clear goals and…

When commercially available tests failed to match their whole-language instructional practices, resource teachers in a Canadian school district developed their own instrument. Assembled over a five-year period, the Multi-Layered Assessment Package (MAP) is a set of procedures accompanied by suggested books, transcripts, and retelling and recording…

Reviews methods for assessing critical thinking: multiaspect commercial tests, aspect-specific commercial tests, and teacher-designed tests. Suggests ways to modify commercial tests. (SK)

Based on empirical work with classes of 4- to 7-year-olds in English primary schools, this book provides an analysis of how classroom assessment occurs within routine teacher-student interaction. The chapters are: (1) "Introduction"; (2) "Defining and Investigating Formative Assessment"; (3) "Teachers' Perceptions of…

An attempt was made to determine whether student honesty is affected by a take-home test, referred to as an unstructured evaluation. A group of 27 students in a history class at a university was given a teacher-made take-home test as a mid-term examination. A second group of 27 students was given the same examination in class. Unknown to the…

Notes that classroom assessment of literacy is dominated by methods more appropriate to external mandates. Suggests an alternative method grounded in the teacher's professional judgment and in the relations between curriculum, instruction, and assessment. (FL)