Fifteen historical and contemporary curriculum designs were analyzed for elements of assessment that support student learning and inform instructional decisions. Educational researchers are purposely paying attention to the role assessment plays in a well-designed planning and teaching process. Assessment is a vital component to educational…

Although much recent attention has focused on gaps in the achievement of different groups of students, the problem has been with us for decades. This paper presents the problem as one of reducing variation in students' achievement, and reviews the work of renowned educator Benjamin Bloom on this problem. Bloom argued that to reduce variation in…