Synopses & Reviews
Classroom Assessment: Concepts and Applications views classroom assessment as an everyday, ongoing, integral part of teaching, not something that is separated from life in classrooms. The text is thus organized in a manner that follows the natural progression of teacher decision making, from organizing the class as a learning community to planning and conducting instruction to the formal evaluation of learning and, finally, to grading. Classroom Assessment presents complex concepts clearly so that pre-service teachers can understand them, and solidly grounds these concepts in best practice through practical, real, well-integrated examples. The text conceives of classroom assessment in a broader way than many other texts. It focuses not only on the assessment needs of testing, grading, interpreting standardized tests, and performance assessments but also on assessment concerns in organizing a classroom at the start of school, planning and implementing instruction, and strategies of teacher self reflection.
Synopsis
Assessment is an everyday, ongoing, integral part of teaching, not something separate from life in classrooms. Clasroom Assessment: Concepts and Applications focuses not only on testing, grading, and interpreting tests and performance, but also on the practical concerns of organizing a classroom at the start of school and planning and implementing instruction. This is the most teacher-friendly assessment textbook available; one that future teachers will keep in their professional libraries for years to come.
About the Author
Peter W. Airasian is Professor of Education at Boston College, where he is Chair of the Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation Program. His main teaching responsibilities are instructing pre- and in-service teachers in classroom assessment strategies. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, with a concentration in testing, evaluation, and assessment. He is a former high school chemistry and biology teacher. He has authored numerous books on assessment, including of Minimal Competency Testing (1979), School Effectiveness: A Reassessment of the Evidence (1980), The Effects of Standardized Testing (1982), Teacher Evaluation Toolkit (1997), Assessment in the Classroom (1997 and 2000), and Classroom Assessment (1991, 1994, 1997, and 2001)). He is a past Chair of the American Educational Research Association’s Special Interest Group on Classroom Assessment. Currently, he is continuing his study of the role of assessments in classrooms and examining issues related to the evaluation of teachers.
Table of Contents
Preface Chapter 1: The Breadth of Classroom Assessment Purposes of Assessment Types of Assessment Assessment, Testing, and Information Three General Ways to Collect Data: Paper-and-Pencil, Observation, and Oral Questioning Standardized and Nonstandardized Assessments Good Assessments: Valid and Reliable Ethical Issues and Responsibilities Chapter 2: Learning About Pupils: Early Assessment Gathering Information about Pupils Sources of Learning about Pupils Forming Pupil Descriptions Concerns about Ethics and Accuracy Improving Early Assessments Clues to Language Disabilities Chapter 3: Lesson Planning and Assessment Objectives The Instructional Process Instructional Planning Three Levels of Educational Objectives Three Domains of Objectives Lesson Plans Improving the Tie Between Planning and Assessment Planning, Disabilities, and Accommodations Chapter 4: Other Sources of Educational Objectives and Assessments Textbook Objectives and Assessments Statewide Assessments Implications of High-Stakes Testing No Child Left Behind Chapter 5: Assessment During Instruction Assessment Task During Instruction Validity and Reliability in Instructional Assessment Improving Assessment During Instruction Questioning Accommodations During Instruction Chapter 6: Official Assessments Formative and Summative Assessments The Logic of Formal Assessment Planning an Official Assessment Preparing Pupils for Official Assessments Chapter 7: Paper-and-Pencil Testing Selection and Supply Test Items Higher Level Questions Guidelines for Writing and Critiquing Test Items Accommodations: Substitutions for Paper-and-Pencil Chapter 8: Improving Paper-and-Pencil Assessments Assembling Tests Administering Tests Issues of Cheating Scoring Paper-and-Pencil Tests Analyzing Item Validity Discussing Test Results with Pupils Testing Pupils with Disabilities Chapter 9: Performance Assessments Performance Assessments in Schools Developing Performance Assessments Anecdotal Records, Checklists, and Rating Scales Rubrics Portfolios Validity and Reliability of Performance Assessments Chapter 10: Grading Rationale and Difficulties of Grading Grading as Judgement Four Types of Comparison for Grading Grading for Cooperative Learning and Pupils with Disabilities Deciding What to Grade Summarizing Varied Types of Assessment Two Approaches to Assigning Grades Other Methods of Reporting Pupil Progress Chapter 11: Commercial Standardized Achievement Tests How Commercial Achievement Tests are Created Administering the Test Interpreting Scores Three Examples of Test Interpretation The Validity of Commercial Achievement Tests Reporting Results to Parents Classroom Assessment: Summing Up Appendix A: Standards for Teacher Competence in Educational Assessment of Students Appendix B: Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (Major Categories and Illustrative Objectives) Appendix C: Sample Individual Education Plan Appendix D: Statistical Applications for Classroom Assessment Glossary References Name Index Subject Index