Ethical Test Preparation in the Classroom

Book excerpt: Large-scale assessment and standardized testing have the power to either open or close future doors for your students. Based on the latest research, this book by Robert J. Marzano, Christopher W. Dodson, Julia A. Simms, and Jacob P. Wipf clearly articulates the ethical challenges teachers face in preparing students for these tests and what can be done to ensure effective test preparation. You'll review a first-of-its-kind study of over 8,000 assessment items and receive specific recommendations for ELA, mathematics, and science. Use this book to effectively prepare students while upholding ethics in assessment in education: Understand the role and profound impact large-scale assessment and high-stakes testing have in students' lives. Study an analysis of 8,804 items from state, national, and international standardized tests. Examine recommendations for item creation in ELA, mathematics, and science based on the analysis findings and ethical testing principles. Provide students with instruction and formative assessment designed to aid them in answering the types of items most likely to appear on large-scale assessments. Receive tools and templates to create formative and summative assessments to measure students' knowledge. Discover a process to create a school- and districtwide approach to help students understand item formats. Contents: Introduction Chapter 1: A Brief Overview of Large-Scale Assessments in the United States Chapter 2: Analysis of English Language Arts Assessment Items Chapter 3: Analysis of Mathematics Assessment Items Chapter 4: Analysis of Science Assessment Items Chapter 5: The Issue of Test Preparation Chapter 6: A Systemic Approach to Ethical Test Preparation Epilogue Appendix A: Mathematics Templates Appendix B: Science Topics References Index