What if there was a better way to collect and interpret assessment data that could strengthen the link between teaching and learning? "Student Assessment: Better Evidence, Better Decisions, Better Learning" is the innovative guide to show you how it is done and done right. This unique book offers a new assessment model focused on…

Nontraditional grading methods have recently become more common, and as with any large pedagogical shift, there are a number of questions to consider when applying a new grading scheme to a course. This article summarizes four types of nontraditional grading and shares experiences from the authors who have applied them to a variety of courses in…

Writing instruction is a particular challenge because there is no singular, linear solution to teaching students to write well. This book approaches writing as a wicked problem that takes place in complicated contexts. Through both scholarly research and teacher reflection, it examines ELA classrooms and the experiences of writing teachers to…

In the summer and fall months of a "typical" year, many education leaders would receive reports of student performance on annual summative state assessments administered each spring. Using these data, administrators begin a process of sense-making -- identifying areas that need support and integrating new information offered by the data…

Student work is the primary means of learning in most if not all classroom lessons and the primary source of evidence about that learning. Yet research shows that many educators look at student work more to ascertain its correctness rather than to delve into what it reveals about students' thought processes and understanding. "Are you picking…

Decisions about hiring are never easy, especially in education. Sharpwood Elementary School has an open teaching position and the principal is charged with hiring the best candidate. The principal knows that a diverse teaching staff benefits all stakeholders in a school, especially students, and he wants to honor that expectation. The staff really…

In this second volume of the successful "Exemplars of Assessment in Higher Education," editors Souza and Rose share examples of assessment practice from over fifteen distinct and diverse higher education institutions, including international contributions. Building upon the work of the first volume, the case studies in this book reflect…

The all-encompassing term "Medical Spanish" references the Spanish used by healthcare professionals. Medical Spanish courses have gained traction as the Spanish-speaking population in the U.S. continues to grow. Consequently, demand for courses in Medical Spanish and other areas of Spanish for Specific Purposes (SSP), a subfield of…

Fuzzy sets have experienced multiple expansions since their conception to enhance their capacity to convey complex information. Intuitionistic fuzzy sets, image fuzzy sets, q-rung orthopair fuzzy sets, and neutrosophic sets are a few of these extensions. Researchers and academics have acquired a lot of information about their theories and methods…

This book is a comprehensive introduction to the topic of assessing students who use two or more languages in their daily life. The book provides foundational information for assessing multilingual learners (MLs) in schools, with an emphasis on school language and content. Major assessment ideas are viewed through a framework called PUMI (Purpose,…

Author and educator Jason McKenna describes how teaching STEM education in his elementary school changed his classroom and his life, improving his students' and his own approaches to problem solving, collaboration, and general motivation to learn. Offering examples, tried and tested classroom projects, and collaborative strategies, this innovative…

This clear, no-nonsense book guides current and future teachers through the concepts, tools, methods, and goals of classroom literacy assessment. The expert authors examine the roles of formative, summative, and benchmark assessments; demystify state and national tests and standards; and show how assessment can seamlessly inform instruction.…

The process of analyzing student data to determine an appropriate instructional decision is crucial for student academic growth. This article details how teachers can make data-driven decisions to carefully design writing instruction. Steps are presented for teachers to follow throughout the data driven decision-making process in order to meet…

Running records are not regularly utilized to their full potential by classroom teachers. Often, teachers use running records only to determine an instructional text level for an individual student and then to place students into reading groups for instructional purposes based on student reading levels. When more thoroughly analyzed, running…

Research-based assessments (RBAs) measure how well a course achieves discipline-specific outcomes. Educators can use outcomes from RBAs to guide instructional choices and to request resources to implement and sustain instructional transformations. One challenge for using RBAs, however, is a lack of comparative data, particularly given the skew in…