All too often, literacy assessments are given only for accountability purposes and fail to be seen as valuable resources for planning and differentiating instruction. This clear, concise book shows K-5 educators how to implement a comprehensive, balanced assessment battery that integrates accountability concerns with data-driven instruction.…

Based on the bestselling book "Data Wise: A Step-by-Step Guide to Using Assessment Results to Improve Teaching and Learning", and its companion volume, "Data Wise in Action", this DVD and Facilitator's Guide offer insight into one of the most challenging steps in capturing data about school performance: observing and analyzing instructional…

Principals should urge teachers to teach students the five basic principles of test taking. This can improve student scores on standardized tests. (MD)

A revision of the document of the same title published in 1971, this publication contains the description of each physical education test event designated by the California State Board of Education annually. Also included are directions for administering, conditioning, reporting, and using the results of the test events. The new norm tables…

Presented are 10 examples of ways in which teachers can use standardized test results (not just test scores) after the testing procedure is over to determine ways in which students take tests and then use this knowledge to structure learning experiences without biasing or influencing the testing outcomes in advance. (KC)

Discusses the results of the 1996 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) of secondary school students on probability and statistics. The most recent results indicate that more attention is being given to data analysis, statistics, and probability, and that student performance on these items is gradually improving compared to the 1990…

The results of exercises related to fractions on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for 9- and 13-year-olds are reported. This discussion is followed by suggestions on ways to help students be more successful when adding fractions. (MP)

Describes a form of assessment called the inverted test within the context of a ceramics class where students work in groups to create test questions and then test the teacher. Addresses the students' reactions to the inverted test, the positive outcomes that resulted, and applying the inverted test in other classes. (CMK)

Claims that in the conventional administration of the Informal Reading Inventory (IRI) comprehension diagnosis is inordinately influenced by the reader's ability to recall information. Suggests that allowing reinspection by the reader restores recall to its proper function and may result in other advantages. (NH)

This booklet by a committee appointed to assess the teaching implications of the Reading and Writing tests of the New Jersey College Basic Skills Placement Test (NJCBSPT) is intended to provide ways of helping teachers assist students to improve their skills in reading and writing by, in part, pinpointing the major weaknesses of students taking…

Describes a history program at the Suzanne Middle School, Walnut, California, in which students create, design, and promote local history activities. Emphasizes the accomplishments of the program, including a rise in the school's state test scores from the twenty-second percentile to the ninety-fourth percentile. (RW)

The last of three volumes studying the relationship between writing research and instruction, this four-part report focuses on writing assessment. The first section details specifications for an instrument assessing student writing samples and the following composition skills: word processing, sentence processing, paragraph development,…

Describes the revamping of a high school physics course in which students are challenged by open-ended questions, assignments outside the classroom, guest speakers, a physics bowl and physics olympics. Reports on the increased enrollment in the course and the results of the students' test performance. (TW)

Designed to assist community college practitioners in understanding and utilizing standardized test results for making instructional, guidance, and administrative decisions, this three-part guidebook examines the uses of test results, the evaluation of standardized tests, and procedures for interpreting test scores. Section I discusses the…

This instructional training package introduces practitioners to methods for developing, validating, using, and reporting criterion-referenced tests. It provides a comprehensive presentation of criterion-referenced testing technology. The package emphasizes the most recent substantive and technological advances in the field that are both important…