Foundations of Meaningful Educational Assessment

Title
Contents
1 The Nature of Assessment
	Chapter Objectives
	Foundational Questions for Your Consideration
	Assessment: A Concept at Odds with Itself
		Metaphors for Assessment
		Digging Deeper: Democracy and Self-Assessment
		Different Purposes for Assessment
			Assessment as Instruction and Providing Feedback
			Assessment as Determining What Learners Need to Learn Next
			Assessment as Diagnosing Learner Diffi culties or Misconceptions
			Assessment as Determining Progress along a Developmental Continuum
			Assessment as Program Evaluation or Accountability
			A Common Thread for Different Purposes
		Resource for Your Assessment Toolkit: Two Assessments with Different Purposes
		Ask Yourself
	Principles of Good Educational Assessment
		Clarifying Your Assumptions about What Counts in Learning
		Resource for Your Assessment Toolkit: Standards for Teacher Competence in Educational Assessment
			What Counts as Important Content Knowledge?
			What Counts as Important Skills and Strategies?
			What Counts as Important Dispositions?
		Gathering Good Evidence: Validity and Reliability
			Assessment Validity
			Assessment Reliability
		Interpreting Results Accurately
		Ask Yourself
	Ethical Issues and Professional Responsibilities in Assessment
		Ask Yourself
		Summary
		Key Terms
		For Further Discussion
		Comprehension Quiz
		Relevant Website Resources
		References
2 The Psychological Foundations of Assessment
	Chapter Objectives
	Foundational Questions for Your Consideration
	What Can Assessment Tell Us?
		Ask Yourself
	Assessment and Different Ways of Learning
		Students’ Developmental Differences
		What Developmental Differences Say about Learning and Assessment
		Differences in Students’ Social Experiences
		Digging Deeper: Gathering Information Through Careful Observation
		Social Constructivism and Differentiated Teaching and Assessment
		Ask Yourself
	Are Students Differently Motivated?
		Motivation as Achievement Goal Orientation
		Motivation as Self-Effi cacy
		The Concept of Flow and Motivation
		Resource for Your Assessment Toolkit: Assessment of Self-Effi cacy
		Resource for Your Assessment Toolkit: Using Assessment as a Motivator to Learn
		Ask Yourself
	Differentiated Instruction and Assessment
		Ask Yourself
		Summary
		Key Terms
		For Further Discussion
		Comprehension Quiz
		Relevant Website Resources
		References
			Chapter
3 The Social Foundations of Assessment
	Chapter Objectives
	Foundational Questions for Your Consideration
	Major Historical Trends in Standardized Assessment
		Alfred Binet and the Beginning of Mental Testing
		Large-Scale Testing Begins in the United States
		Testing in Mid-Twentieth Century America
		The Changing Face of Testing
		Ask Yourself
	The Achievement Gap
		Achievement Differences Based on Gender
		Causes of Achievement Differences Based on Gender
		Achievement Differences Across Race and Ethnicity
		Causes of Achievement Differences Across Race and Ethnicity
		Achievement Differences Based on Socioeconomic Status
		Causes of Achievement Differences Based on Socioeconomic Status
			In-School Factors
			Out-of-School Factors
		Classroom Implications
		Digging Deeper: Reducing the Achievement Gap
		Ask Yourself
	Criticisms of Standardized Achievement Tests
		Bias in Standardized Tests
		Standardized Tests and Accountability: No Child Left Behind
			The Purpose of the No Child Left Behind Act
		Resource for Your Assessment Toolkit: Understanding Educational Policies
			Criticisms of NCLB
		Ask Yourself
	Avoiding Bias in Assessment
		Awareness of Stereotypes
		Avoiding Offensiveness
		Reducing Unfair Penalization
		Resource for Your Assessment Toolkit: Reducing Bias in Classroom Assessment
		Ask Yourself
		Summary
		Key Terms
		For Further Discussion
		Comprehension Quiz
		Relevant Website Resources
		References
4 Assessment: The Link Between Standards and Learning
	Chapter Objectives
	Foundational Questions for Your Consideration
	The Critical Connection Between Assessment and the Nature of Learning
		Ask Yourself
	What Is Understanding?
		Understanding Involves Multiple Pathways to Learning
		Understanding Involves Personal Meaning Making
		Understanding Requires a Large Knowledge Base
			Opportunities for Practice and Feedback
			Learning from Errors
		Understanding Involves the Organization of Schemas or Categories of Knowledge and Skills
		The Importance of Metacognition
		Implications for Assessment
		Resource for Your Assessment Toolkit: National Recommendations for Developing Assessments
		Ask Yourself
	What Does Thinking Mean?
		Thinking Strategies Drawn from Dimensions of Learning
		Thinking Strategies Drawn from Benjamin Bloom
		Ask Yourself
		Resource for Your Assessment Toolkit: Marzano’s Thinking Strategies
		Resource for Your Assessment Toolkit: Thinking Questions Spanning Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy
	Standards, Standards, and More Standards: The Content Focus for Assessment
		What Exactly Is a Standard?
			Vision of Excellence
			World-Class Performance
			Benchmarks and Performance Competencies
		How Do Expectations Infl uence Standards?
		Digging Deeper: The NEA Committee of Ten
		Where Do Standards Reside?
		Who Sets Standards?
		How Do States Interpret and Use the Standards?
		What Unintended Consequences Have Come from Standards-Based Education?
			High-Stakes Testing
				Teaching for the Test
				One Size Fits All
				A National Exam
		What Do Standards Imply for Assessment?
		Ask Yourself
	Three Dimensions of the Instructional Process: Standards, Learning, and Assessment
		Constructing Learning Outcomes that Match Standards
		Ask Yourself
		Summary
		Key Terms
		For Further Discussion
		Comprehension Quiz
		Relevant Website Resources
		References
			Chapter
5 Selected-Response Assessments
	Chapter Objectives
	Foundational Questions for Your Consideration
	Testing and Assessment
		Ask Yourself
	Validity and Reliabity in Testing
		Test Reliability
		Types of Reliability
		Validity
		Ask Yourself
	Where Do Selected-Response Tests Fit into Assessment?
		Selected-Response Tests
		Advantages of Selected-Response Tests
		Disadvantages of Selected-Response Tests
		Ask Yourself
	True-False or Alternative-Response Items
		Digging Deeper: What Did the First Standardized Test Items Look Like?
		What Does a Good True-False Item Look Like?
		Guidelines for Effective True-False Items
		Ask Yourself
	Multiple-Choice Items
		The Stem
		Distracters
			Plausibility
		Resource for Your Assessment Toolkit: Formatting Options for Multiple-Choice Items
			All of the Above, None of the Above
			Indirect Clues
		The Correct Answer
		Resource for Your Assessment Toolkit: Common Errors in Constructing Multiple-Choice Items
		The Added Value of Multiple-Choice Items
			Recognition of Terms and Vocabulary
			Factual Knowledge
			Procedural Knowledge
			Higher-Order Thinking
		Ask Yourself
	Matching
		Advantages and Disadvantages of Matching Items
		Creating Good Matching Items
		Ask Yourself
	Recommendations for Developing Selected-Response Items
		Ask Yourself
		Summary
		Key Terms
		For Further Discussion
		Comprehension Quiz
		References
		Relevant Website Resources
6 Constructed-Response Assessments
	Chapter Objectives
	Foundational Questions for Your Consideration
	Constructing Responses to Test Items
		Ask Yourself
	Short-Answer Items
		What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Short-Answer Items?
		Format Options for Short-Answer Items
		What Characteristics Make Short-Answer Items Effective?
		When Are Short-Answer Items Useful?
		Ask Yourself
	Essay Items
		Resource for Your Assessment Toolkit: Constructing Short-Answer Items
		The Continuum of Restrictiveness of Constructed-Response Items
		Varied Degrees of Student-Constructed Responses for Essay Questions
			Singly Focused Constructed-Response Questions
			Multiply Focused Constructed- Response Questions
			Multiply Focused and Extended Constructed-Response Questions
		What Are the Advantages of Essay/ Constructed-Response Items?
		Digging Deeper: What Might Vygotsky Say?
		What Are the Disadvantages of Essay/ Constructed-Response Items?
		Guidelines for Meaningful Essay Items
		Ask Yourself
	Scoring Essays
		The Issue of Subjectivity and the Halo Effect
		Developing an Effective Scoring Guide
		Other Considerations in Scoring Essays
		Resource for Your Assessment Toolkit: Advice from a History Professor
		Ask Yourself
		Summary
		Key Terms
		For Further Discussion
		Comprehension Quiz
		Relevant Website Resources
		References
7 Assessment Through Observation and Interview
	Chapter Objectives
	Foundational Questions for Your Consideration
	Observation: A Direct Means for Getting to Know Students
		Advantages of Assessment Through Observation
			Immediacy
			Unique Information
			Differentiation
			Value Added
		Disadvantages of Assessment Through Observation
			Subjectivity
			Time Factors
			Uncovering the Right Behaviors
		Digging Deeper: Binet and Simon
		Identifying Observable Behaviors that Match Standards and Desired Outcomes
			Academic Skills
			Psychomotor Skills
			Prosocial or Affective Skills
		Adapting Your Vocabulary to Your State Standards
		Building Reliability and Validity into Your Observations
			Reliability
			Observation Validity
			How Do You Make Your Observations Reliable and Valid?
		Ask Yourself
	Systematic Approaches to Classroom Observation
		Resource for Your Assessment Toolkit: Observing Inappropriate Behaviors
		Anecdotal Notes or Records
			Impromptu Anecdotal Records
			Planned Anecdotal Records
			Making Anecdotal Records Reliable and Valid
		Observation Checklists
			Using a Checklist to Observe Academic Skills
			Using a Checklist to Observe Psychomotor Skills
			Using a Checklist to Observe Prosocial Behavior
			Using a Checklist to Assess Dispositions
			Making Your Observations Checklist Reliable and Valid
		Rating Scales
			Descriptive Rating Scales
			Numerical Rating Scales
		Cautions Regarding Interpretation of Observational Data
		Ask Yourself
	Interviews
		Resource for Your Assessment Toolkit: Self- Assessment Checklist for Sentence-Writing Skills—First Grade
		Using Interviews in Your Classroom
		Conducting Reliable, Valid Interviews
		Ask Yourself
		Summary
		Key Terms
		For Further Discussion
		Comprehension Quiz
		Relevant Website Resources
		References
8 Performance-Based Assessment
	Chapter Objectives
	Foundational Questions for Your Consideration
	The Characteristics of Performance-Based Assessment
		What Is Performance-Based Assessment?
		Authenticity and Performance Assessment
		Issues to Consider in Developing Performance Tasks
		Types of Performance Assessment Tasks
			Tasks Focused on Solving a Problem
			Tasks Focused on Completing an Inquiry
			Tasks Focused on Determining a Position
		Resource for Your Assessment Toolkit: Social Studies Performance Task
		Demonstration Tasks
			Tasks Focused on Developing Exhibits
			Presentation Tasks
			Capstone Performances
		Strengths and Limitations of Performance Assessment
			Strengths
			Limitations
		Ask Yourself
		Digging Deeper: Civil Service and Performance Assessment
	Designing Meaningful Performance Assessments that Match Learning Goals
		Designing the Right Performance Task
			Identifying a Proper Context for Performance Tasks
		Stuffi ng the Performance with Multiple Opportunities to Show Learning
			Include Different Types of Questions to Allow Students to Demonstrate Thinking
		Resource for Your Assessment Toolkit: Quest for the Best Banana
		Identifying Performance Indicators
		Ask Yourself
	Developing Criteria for Performance Assessments
		Creating Scoring Tools Based on Performance Criteria
		Guiding Principles for the Development of Valid and Reliable Performance Criteria
			Performance Indicators and Criteria Are Educationally Important
			Performance Indicators and Criteria Are Valid
			Performance Indicators and Criteria Are Reliable
			Performance Indicators and Criteria Are Clearly Defi ned
			All Students Are Assessed on One Task Before Going on to Another Task
			When Feasible, Performances Are Assessed Without Knowledge of Students’ Names
		Ask Yourself
		Summary
		Key Terms
		For Further Discussion
		Comprehension Quiz
		Relevant Website Resources
		References
9 Portfolio Assessment and Rubric Development
	Chapter Objectives
	Foundational Questions for Your Consideration
	The Unique Role of Portfolios in the Classroom
		Portfolios Defi ned
		Types of Portfolios
			Project or Product Portfolio
			Growth Portfolio
			Standards-Based Portfolio
			Celebration Portfolio
			Journal Portfolio
		Student Refl ection and Portfolio Development
		Ask Yourself
	Designing and Using Portfolio Assessments in the Classroom
		Resource for Your Assessment Toolkit: Self- Refl ection Questions
		Steps for Developing Portfolio Assessments
			Clarify the Overall Purpose of the Portfolio
			Relate the Portfolio Purpose to Your Learning Objectives and the Relevant Standards
			Determine What Needs to Be Included in the Portfolio and Relate These Artifacts to Valued Learning
			Identify the Physical Structure of the Portfolio
			Determine Sources and Learning Content that You Must Provide to Enable Students to Gather Evidence for Their Portfolio
			Determine Student Self-Refl ection Opportunities
			Identify Scoring Criteria for the Portfolio
			Share the Scoring Criteria with Students
			Clarify a Communication Method to Examine the Results of Portfolio Evaluation
		Strengths and Limitations of Portfolio Assessment
			Benefi ts of Portfolio Assessment
			Limitations of Portfolio Assessment
		Ask Yourself
	Rubric Development and Its Relationship to Assessment
		Digging Deeper: The Origins of Rubric
		The Challenging Task of Defi ning Rubrics
		Types of Rubrics
			Generalized Rubrics
			Developing Generalized Rubrics
			Analytic Rubrics
			Developing Analytic Rubrics
			Examples of Projects and Their Analytic Rubrics
			Holistic Rubrics
			Developing Holistic Rubrics
		Getting Rubrics Right
		Resource for Your Assessment Toolkit: Guidelines for Selecting Rubrics
		Ask Yourself
		Summary
		Key Terms
		For Further Discussion
		Comprehension Quiz
		Relevant Website Resources
		References
10 Developing Grading Procedures
	Chapter Objectives
	Foundational Questions for Your Consideration
	What Is a Grade?
		A Grade’s Essential Dimensions
			Analysis of Assessment Data
			Interpretation and Communication of Grades
		How Grades Came to Be: A Brief History of Grading Practices
		Why Do We Grade Students?
			Feedback
			Communication
			Accountability
			Sorting
		Digging Deeper: Do Grades Motivate Students?
		Ask Yourself
	Types of Grading Systems
		Criterion-Referenced Versus Norm- Referenced Grading
		Grading Systems that May Be Either Criterion- or Norm-Referenced
			Letter Grades
			Points and Percentage Systems
		Grading Systems that Are Specifi cally Criterion-Referenced
			Instructional Standards Grading System
			Pass/Fail Grading
			Contract Grading
		Ask Yourself
		Resource for Your Assessment Toolkit: Developing Your Personal Grading Philosophy
	How Can I Make Grading Meaningful and Fair?
		Combining Assessment Data Holistically to Create a Grade
		Some Practical Suggestions
			Dealing with Cheating
		Resource for Your Assessment Toolkit: Pulling Assessment Data Together to Create the Grade
			Borderline Cases
			The Issue of Zero
			Extra Credit
			Cooperative Learning and Grading
			Using the Most Recent Assessment Information
		How Can We Shift Attention from Grades to Academic Achievement?
		Improving Grading Practices to Help Students Learn
			Standards-Based Report Cards
			Student-Led Conferences
			Narrative Evaluations
			Portfolios of Student Work
			Making Sense of Grading Practices
		Summary
		Key Terms
		For Further Discussion
		Comprehension Quiz
		Relevant Website Resources
		References
11 Statistical Applications to Assessment
	Chapter Objectives
	Foundational Questions for Your Consideration
	Looking Beyond the Test Score
	Statistical Concepts
		Distribution of Scores
			Frequency Table
			Histogram
			Frequency Polygon
		Measures of Central Tendency
			Mean
			Median
			Mode
		Measures of Variability
			Range
			Standard Deviation
		Ask Yourself
	The Normal Curve
		Digging Deeper: What Is “Normal” Behavior?
		Ask Yourself
	Item Analysis
		Item Diffi culty
		Item Discrimination
		Resource for Your Assessment Toolkit: What Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do: National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
		Ask Yourself
		Summary
		Key Terms
		For Further Discussion
		Comprehension Quiz
		Relevant Website Resources
		References
12 Using Standardized Achievement Tests as Assessments
	Chapter Objectives
	Foundational Questions for Your Consideration
	Standardized Tests in the Current Educational Climate
		What Is a Standardized Test?
		Why Are Standardized Tests Important?
		What Else Do Standardized Tests Offer?
		Digging Deeper: Early Use of the SAT
		The No Child Left Behind Act
		Meaningful Learning in an Age of High- Stakes Assessment
		Ask Yourself
	Types of Tests
		Norm-Referenced Versus Criterion- Referenced Tests
		Achievement Tests Versus Aptitude Tests
		Resource for Your Assessment Toolkit: Building a Standardized Norm-Referenced Achievement Test
		Ask Yourself
	Interpreting Results of Standardized Tests
		Types of Scores
			Raw Scores
			Percent Correct
			Percentile Rank
			Stanines
			Grade Equivalents
		Reading and Interpreting a Standardized Test Score Report
		Ask Yourself
	Preparing Students for Testing Situations
		Student Motivation and Standardized Tests
		Test Anxiety and Your Students
			Teach for Conceptual Understanding Rather than Test Content
			Help Students Become Properly Oriented to Standardized Testing
			Provide Occasional Practice Exercises
		Ask Yourself
	Making Standardized Tests Meaningful
		Resource for Your Assessment Toolkit: More Information on Standardized Tests
		Ask Yourself
		Summary
		Key Terms
		For Further Discussion
		Comprehension Quiz
		References
		Relevant Website Resources
13 Assessment and the Law
	Chapter Objectives
	Foundational Questions for Your Consideration
	High-Stakes Assessment
		Debra P. v. Turlington
		Ask Yourself
	Assessment and the Fourteenth Amendment
		Digging Deeper: Brown v. Board of Education
			Due Process Claims
				Procedural Due Process
				Substantive Due Process
		Equal Protection Claims
		Resource for Your Assessment Toolkit: Checking Your State’s Testing Policies
		Ask Yourself
	Standardized Testing and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
		GI Forum v. Texas Education Agency
		Ask Yourself
	Assessment Mandated by State and Federal Entities
		Ask Yourself
	Assessment of Exceptional Students and the Law
		The Rehabilitation Act of 1973
		Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act
		Special Education High-Stakes Testing Litigation
		Are Standardized Tests Fair to Exceptional Students?
		Ask Yourself
	Assessment of English Language Learners
		Ask Yourself
	Teachers and Assessment
		NCLB and Teacher Assessment
		Linking Teacher Evaluations to Student Test Scores
		Ask Yourself
	Assessment and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
		Ask Yourself
	First Amendment Guidelines for Classroom Assessments
		Resource for Your Assessment Toolkit: First Amendment Checklist
		Ask Yourself
		Summary
		Key Terms
		For Further Discussion
		Comprehension Quiz
		Relevant Website Resources
		References
14 Exceptionality and Assessment
	Chapter Objectives
	Foundational Questions for Your Consideration
	Assessment and Exceptionality: A Short History of Legislation
		The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
		Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
		Digging Deeper: The Future of IDEA?
		Ask Yourself
	What Is the Role of the Regular Classroom Teacher?
		Identifi cation of a Student with Special Needs
		Specialized Assessment of the Student
		Development of the Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
		Preparation and Administration of Individualized Instruction
		Review of the Student’s IEP
		Response to Intervention (RtI)
		Ask Yourself
	Accommodations
		Defi ning Assessment Accommodations
		Who Decides about Assessment Accommodations?
		When Are Accommodations Appropriate?
		Resource for Your Assessment Toolkit: Considerations for Assessment Accommodations
		Basic Guidelines for Accommodations
		Categories of Accommodations
			Setting
			Presentation
			Timing
			Response
		Resource for Your Assessment Toolkit: Examples of Students’ Problems and Possible Accommodations
			Scheduling
			Other
		How Do Accommodations Affect Test Results?
		Ask Yourself
	Accommodations for English Language Learners
		Ask Yourself
	Assessing Students with Exceptional Gifts and Talents
		The Multidimensional Qualities of Giftedness
		Challenges in Assessing the Gifted Learner
			Dynamic Assessment
			Authentic, Problem-Based Assessment and Gifted Students
		Ask Yourself
		Summary
		Key Terms
		For Further Discussion
		Comprehension Quiz
		Relevant Website Resources
		References
15 Technology and Assessment
	Chapter Objectives
	Foundational Questions for Your Consideration
	Basic Technology Applications for Assessment
		Creating Assessments
			Word Processing
			Online Assessment Creation Tools
			Test Item Banks
		Assessing Student Work and Providing Feedback
		Recording and Analyzing Assessment Data
			Electronic Grade Books
			Data Analysis
			Computer-Based Testing
		Qualitative Assessments
			Observation
			Interviews
		Ask Yourself
	Student Performance with Technology
		Sharing Student Work in Class
		Student Response Systems
		E-Portfolios
		Refl ection via Journaling
		Adaptive Technologies
		WebQuests
		Ask Yourself
	Integrated Technologies
		Learning Management Systems
		Integrated Learning Systems
		Computer-Assisted Instruction
		Resource for Your Assessment Toolkit: Checklist for Using Technology in Assessment
		Ask Yourself
		Digging Deeper: Future Shock
		Summary
		Key Terms
		For Further Discussion
		Comprehension Quiz
		Relevant Website Resources
		References
16 Refl ective Self- Assessment
	Chapter Objectives
	Foundational Questions for Your Consideration
	Refl ective Self-Assessment: The Heart of Exemplary Teaching and Learning
		Foundations as a Basis for Teacher Self-Assessment
		Assessment Standards for Teachers: A Basis for Self-Assessment
		Student Motivation as a Basis for Ongoing, Refl ective Self-Assessment
		Using Formative Assessments as Opportunities for Self-Assessment
		Resource for Your Assessment Toolkit: Students’ Sociocultural Context as a Basis for Ongoing, Refl ective Self-Assessment
			The Disconnect Between Assessment and Learning
			Negative Impact and Assessment
			Managerial Instead of Instructional Role
		Ask Yourself
	Helping Students Develop into Self-Assessors
		Helping Students Learn to Refl ect
		Attributes of Good Self-Refl ection
		Teaching Students How to Describe Their Thinking (Metacognition)
		Digging Deeper: The Origins of the Term Metacognition
		Resource for Your Assessment Toolkit: Developing Metacognition Through a Plan of Action
		Teaching Students to Ask Probing Questions
		Developing a Disposition for Lifelong Learning Through Self-Assessment
		Ask Yourself
		Summary
		Key Terms
		For Further Discussion
		Comprehension Quiz
		Relevant Website Resources
		References
Appendix A: National Standards Groups and Publications
Appendix B: Student Evaluation Standards
Glossary
Comprehension Quiz Answer Key
Credits
Index