Foreword by: Susan Brookhart
Publication Date: April 16, 2021
Pages: 112
How can we help teachers use classroom assessments to gather appropriate evidence for all valued learning goals, and to use those assessments not just to measure learning but to promote it? This book provides an answer in a practical, proven, and unique Assessment Planning Framework that moves away from solely multiple-choice tests toward a wide range of approaches to classroom assessment activities, including performance-based assessments. This user-friendly guide will help pre- and inservice teachers to match assessments to purpose, goals, and content; select appropriate tasks; communicate productive feedback to students and parents; and use assessment results to inform instruction. School leaders will find it a practical guide for improving schoolwide assessment practices, as well as supporting teachers and orienting new staff. Assessing Student Learning by Design encourages educators to use classroom assessment as a way to inform teaching and learning, rather than simply to assign grades.
Book Features:
Jay McTighe is an educational consultant, bestselling author, and a regular speaker at national and international conferences and workshops. Steve Ferrara, senior advisor at Cognia, Inc., was a high school special education teacher, taught at the preschool and graduate school levels, and is a former Maryland state director of student assessment.
“In Assessing Student Learning by Design,authors Jay McTighe and Steve Ferrara lay out principles and practices—that is, knowledge and skills—that teachers and school administrators need to mount the learning curve toward being an effective user of classroom assessment. It’s concise and readable, full of examples, and covers all the basic principles and practices.”
—From the foreword by Susan Brookhart, professor emerita, Duquesne University
“Oh my, how our vision of excellence in assessment has improved the past few decades! McTighe and Ferrara map our collective assessment future by strongly advising teachers and school leaders to tap profound school improvement gains by refocusing their assessment spotlight from once a year to continuous, from accountability testing to classroom assessment, from emphasis on selected response to performance assessments, from grading/sorting to assessment for learning, and from student as assessment victim to assessment partner.”
—Rick Stiggins, Assessment Training Institute, Portland, OR
“Every classroom teacher should read this book to affirm, fine tune, or challenge their assessment practices and decide what they will continue, what they will start doing, and most importantly, what they will stop doing. Furthermore, at any time that they are making assessment plans, they should refer to the three-part assessment framework that summarizes the components of high-quality classroom assessment—assessment planning, assessment methods, and evaluation and communication methods—because it is the best description of the three purposes for assessment I have ever seen.”
—Ken O'Connor, author and consultant
“Just as the pioneering work of Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe influenced teaching practices around the world, Assessing Student Learning by Design will help the next generation of educators transform standards and curriculum into engaging assessments for learning. For veteran teachers who have grown cynical about the never-ending onslaught of things called ‘assessments,’ the authors provide an essential alternative—assessments focused on student needs that are fair and accurate. For educational leaders, this book is an important consumer’s guide that will steer them away from false claims of assessments that are labeled as ‘formative’ but are in fact more accurately described as uninformative. McTighe and Ferrara give us a framework that places assessment where it belongs—as part of the daily practice of teachers and students as they receive continuous feedback, gain understanding, and regain the joys of teaching and learning.”
—Douglas B. Reeves, founder, Creative Leadership Solutions
“The strength and uniqueness of this concise and clearly written text is that it uses nontechnical language to provide fundamental classroom assessment principles that teachers and administrators across grade levels and subjects can use to effectively personalize assessment strategies in their classrooms and schools. The internationally recognized authors bring their extensive experience and expertise to show how high-quality classroom assessment is planned, implemented, and used to both evaluate and enhance student proficiency. Through the extensive use of reflective questions and realistic examples, prospective and practicing teachers will learn how to apply contemporary assessment principles. Among the key assessment strategies presented, there is a notable emphasis on authentic performance-based assessment. There is also a very helpful chapter for school leaders that presents strategies for improving classroom assessment. This is a book that is much needed in the education profession to provide a solid, succinct roadmap to improved classroom assessment.”
—James McMillan, professor emeritus, Virginia Commonwealth University
“This book is a small but mighty primer for educators of all kinds who want to understand and harness the power of classroom assessment that, as the authors say, enhances learning. Its writing is spare, clear, and accessible. Its carefully chosen analogies make important ideas relatable to readers. Its illustrations come from a broad range of subjects and grade levels. The accompanying Assessment Planning Framework guides teachers in revisiting and connecting the key aspects of assessment as they select, develop, and engage students with assessment practices. In a time when high-stakes standardized tests have become the dominant measure of student and teacher success, this book reminds readers that assessment becomes truly valuable as it improves learning.”
—Carol Ann Tomlinson, William Clay Parrish Jr. Professor Emeritus, University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development
“In Assessing Student Learning by Design, McTighe and Ferrara offer teachers clear and practical guidelines for developing assessments that truly inform teaching and improve student learning. What makes their book unique, however, is that instead of simply describing what to do, the authors explain why. Their book does what they want assessments of student learning to do: Encourage deeper understanding and higher levels of learning success.”
—Thomas R. Guskey, professor emeritus, University of Kentucky
“In Assessing Student Learning by Design, Jay McTighe and Steve Ferrara outline principles and practices that promote assessment literacy by clearly defining the purposes of assessing and evaluating, and by outlining the importance of communicating results. They provide school leaders guidance on evaluating their teachers’ understanding of sound assessment principles and supply strategies and resources to help promote professional learning. This is a valuable resource for educators and school leaders alike that will ultimately impact student learning.”
—Kristen Maxey-Moore, North Carolina assessment program and former assessment director in the Guilford County, NC and Denver public school systems
Contents (Tentative)
Foreword
Introduction
1. Principles of Effective Classroom Assessment
Principle #1—Assessment Should Serve Learning
Principle #2—Multiple Measures Provide More Evidence
Principle #3—Assessments Should Align with Goals
Principle #4—Assessments Should Measure What Matters
Principle #5—Assessments Should Be Fair
Conclusion
2. An Assessment Planning Framework
Begin with the End in Mind
Classroom Assessment and National Content Standards
Purpose and Audience Matter
Classroom Assessment and Statewide Accountability Testing
Conclusion
3. Assessment Methods
Selected Response
Brief Constructed Response
Performance-Based Assessments
Process-focused Assessments
Conclusion
4. Evaluating Student Performance
Criterion Lists
Rubrics
Evaluation Roles
Conclusion
5. Communicating Assessment Results
Communication Methods
Grading Principles and Practices
Formative Assessment and Feedback
Conclusion
6. Classroom Assessment Strategies for Teachers
Practice 1. Use assessments to frame learning goals
Practice 2: Diagnose before you start teaching.
Practice 3: Create an authentic context for performance-based assessments
Practice 4: Show evaluative criteria in the beginning
Practice 5: Provide illustrative models
Practice 6: Offer appropriate choices
Practice 7: Provide ongoing feedback
Practice 8: Encourage self-assessment and goal setting
Conclusion
7. Tips for School Leaders
1. Assess the Staff
2. Conduct a School Assessment Audit
3. Offer Targeted Professional Development
4. Share and Discuss Assessment-Related Articles
5. Develop or Adopt Principles of Assessment and Grading
6. Share Successful Practices
7. Schedule Peer Visitations
8. Design Assessments Collaboratively
9. Examine Assessment Results in Teams
10. Discourage Excessive Test Prep
11. Organize a Voluntary Book Study
Conclusion
Glossary of Assessment Terms
References
Index
About the Authors
Professors: Request an Exam Copy
Print copies available for US orders only. For orders outside the US, see our international distributors.