Essential Assessment

Book excerpt: While much research has revealed which assessment practices have the most positive impact on student achievement and instruction, out-of-date, unproductive practices, which students find disengaging and disheartening, still persist. Discover how to use the power of assessment to instill hope, efficacy, and achievement in your students. With this research-based resource, you'll explore six essential tenets of assessment--assessment purpose, communication of assessment results, accurate interpretation, assessment architecture, instructional agility, and student investment--that will help deepen your understanding of assessment to not only meet standards but also enhance students' academic success and self-fulfillment. Benefits Interpret the research-based tenets of assessment that are necessary to maximize all students' learning. Gain advice and strategies for immediately acting on the six essential assessment tenets, including how to communicate assessment results to give feedback that produces constructive responses. Discover why it is vital that assessment practices build students' and teachers' hope, efficacy, and achievement. Consider scenarios that illustrate traditional, outmoded assessment practices and revised scenarios that feature practices that better reflect modern assessment needs. Reflect on questions related to the content of each chapter and study next steps that teaching teams can take. Contents Introduction Chapter 1: Hope, Efficacy, and Achievement Chapter 2: Assessment Purpose Chapter 3: Communication of Assessment Results Chapter 4: Accurate Interpretation Chapter 5: Assessment Architecture Chapter 6: Instructional Agility Chapter 7: Student Investment References Index