This collection of 17 papers provides a blueprint for teachers who want increasingly sophisticated methods for monitoring student growth and can serve as a resource for in-service educators as literacy instruction changes. Papers in the first section of the book examine literacy assessment as it pertains to school-age children. Papers in the second section illustrate how portfolios can be used in a variety of different settings from the classroom through higher education. Papers in the book are "Assessment Criteria in First Grade: What Do Teachers Want to Know about Students' Reading and Writing?" (Elizabeth Pryor); "Learning about Literacy through Retelling" (Gail G. Smith and Diane Keister); "Profiling Students' Achievement in Language and Literacy: Merging Perspectives" (Gerry Shiel and Patrick Forde); "Assessment of Reading Attitudes: Validity Issues" (Mary M. Brittain and Clay V. Brittain); "'I Believe Learning Is Concentrating, Figuring Things Out, and Sometimes Having Fun': Revisiting the Reading Clinic" (Nancy B. Cothern); "Involving Graduate Students in Personal Literacy Evaluation through the Use of Portfolios" (Diane D. Allen); "Teachers as Learners: Experiencing Self-Evaluation, Portfolios, and Rubrics" (Michael P. Ford); "Authentic Assessment in a University Preservice Literacy Course" (Deborah R. Dillon and others); "A Model for Preparing Preservice and Inservice Teachers to Interpret and Utilize Portfolio Assessment" (Rebecca P. Harlin and Sally E. Lipa); "The Challenge of Change: The M.Ed. Portfolio" (Barbara Martin Palmer and others); "Literacy Portfolios: The Myth and the Reality" (Linda Irwin-DeVitis); "Pre and Post Course Literacy Self-Assessment: Its Positive Impact on Preservice Teachers" (Jane Brady Matanzo); "Rethinking the Role and Practice of Assessment in Teacher Education: Learning to Assess Authentically on Multiple Levels" (N. Suzanne Standerford); "Portfolio Assessment in Adult Education Programs" (Linda Thistlethwaite); "Assessing Developmental Learners' Perceptions of Reading and Writing and the Literacy Demands in College" (Maria Valeri-Gold); "The ALERT: One Answer to Literacy Screening" (Rita M. Bean and Others); and "Developing and Assessing Emergent Literacy through Children's Literature" (Nancy A. Anderson). (RS)

Practical and rich in resources, this book provides a roadmap to monitoring, evaluating, and implementing effective literacy instruction in grades PK-12. Designed for district and school leaders as well as literacy coaches and consultants, this book contains all the strategies, guidance, and tools you’ll need to monitor the effectiveness of literacy instruction in your school or system. Top literacy experts Angela Peery and Tracey Shiel share concise, well-researched information about how to identify enriched literacy environments, what constitutes well-designed literacy lessons, and the components of effective literacy programs at each grade level. Chapters cover reading, writing, speaking and listening, as well as collaboration, technology, and more, and offer adaptable strategies for different environments. Tools such as checklists and conversation frames are included to help busy leaders and administrators effectively monitor literacy instruction and provide constructive, thorough feedback to teachers. Each chapter features: Check-Up Tools to review documents and observe instruction Check-In Tools to guide your conversations and feedback given to teachers Reflective Questions for system and school leaders and instructional coaches.

With this updated document, IRA and NCTE reaffirm their position that the primary purpose of assessment must be to improve teaching and learning for all students. Eleven core standards are presented and explained, and a helpful glossary makes this document suitable not only for educators but for parents, policymakers, school board members, and other stakeholders. Case studies of large-scale national tests and smaller scale classroom assessments (particularly in the context of RTI, or Response to Intervention) are used to highlight how assessments in use today do or do not meet the standards.

This exciting new text examines the connection between meeting literacy standards and conducting literacy assessments and helps students understand the confusing world of standards and tests directly affecting today's classrooms. Taking a common sense approach to the complex set of assessment challenges teachers face today, respected author Mark Conley maps a clear route to balance in the use of large-scale assessment to serve its intended purposes and the use of classroom assessment to meet the information needs of its intended users. Sure to get students engaged and thinking critically about assessment in standards-based schools, Conley challenges students to address a critical assessment issue: assessment, evaluation and grading practices born and bred to produce dependable rankings--that is, to help only a few students succeed--must now be transformed into practices that permit all students to succeed. Some of the topics featured in the text (e.g. and instruction in relation to assessment, early literacy standards and assessments) have been carefully selected for their currency, importance and relevance to students' needs. A great text for any student in a teacher preparation program, Connecting Standards and Assessments Through Literacy helps pre-service teachers make clear meaning out of the complexity surrounding assessment and guides them in making practical connections between standards, test performance and future classroom practice.

Content Area Literacy by Mark Conley, one of today's top literacy researchers, brings educators a wealth of hands-on, ready-to-use ideas, strategies and techniques for helping today's diverse secondary school students develop the literacy skills they need to be successful in all content areas. The first section of the book helps teachers confront the need to fully understand today's educational landscape, while the second section focuses on the specifics of how to go about planning and teaching, using principles of content area literacy. A unique final chapter pulls it all together by showing educators how to enlist students' cooperation while reaching out to parents and the community to support teaching and learning.

This clear, no-nonsense book guides current and future teachers through the concepts, tools, methods, and goals of classroom literacy assessment. The expert authors examine the roles of formative, summative, and benchmark assessments; demystify state and national tests and standards; and show how assessment can seamlessly inform instruction. Strategies for evaluating, choosing, and interpreting assessments are discussed, as are ways to communicate data to parents and administrators. User-friendly resources include boxed vignettes from teachers and researchers, practical assessment tips (and traps to avoid), and 12 reproducible planning forms and handouts. Purchasers get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.

"The Fourth Edition Builds on Past Strengths and Adds New Ones... " Student Centered. Culturally Diverse Students. Evidence-Based Standards. Written by renowned authors Donna Alvermann and Steven Phelps, the Fourth Edition includes more emphasis and information on addressing the literacy needs of English language learners and culturally diverse students, a new focus on evidence-based practices and standards, and key information on newer frameworks for reading and writing instruction, such as the sociocultural New Literacies Framework, that equips students to teach content area literacy from a student-centered approach. What Continues to Make This Book a Best Seller... Increased discussion of English language learners. New evidence-based research icons highlighting current research New standards icons from various subject areas help pre-service teachers make the connection on how content area literacy instruction helps them meet the standards in their disciplines. New writing icons throughout the chapters point to writing examples. Thoroughly revised Chapter 7, " Reading to Learn." New information for all of the content areas in every chapter is represented in the examples, lessons, vignettes, and scenarios, making it easier for students enrolled from different discipline areas to locate content-specific/relevant examples. Ringing Endorsements for "Content Area Reading and Literacy, Fourth Edition" " Chapter 14-- " Teaching for Diversity." "This is an excellent chapter that certification students and other graduate students can use to understand more about thetypes of diversity categories that are present in instructional settings. This textbook is excellent for students." " Lavernia F. Hutchison, University of Houston-- Central Campus "" There are many strengths in this text. I particularly like the way it is laid out. I believe that helping the students to see the importance of content literacy from the very beginning is extremely important. Immediately following this topic the students then move directly into diversity, which includes the understanding the meaning of language and culture. Both of these topics form the basis for the rest of the course. Overall, I believe that this book is an excellent text for teaching in the Content Area." " Randy M. Wood, Baylor University "" The strengths of this text include the authors in depth knowledge of the field of content area reading. Their chapter on assessing textbooks is invaluable for secondary teachers who don't understand the difficulty of some textbooks and the problems these texts can cause students. The chapter on multiculturalism and the ESL learner is a strength. The chapter on vocabulary is outstanding." " Patricia J. Pollifrone, Gannon University Please visit the book specific website at: http: //www.ablongman.com/alvermann4e to learn more.

What is assessment literacy? It's a handful of fundamental understandings about the testing concepts and procedures that influence educational decisions. And it just might be the most cost-effective means of real school improvement. With characteristic humor and aplomb, assessment expert W. James Popham strips away the psychometrician-speak and condenses the complexities of educational testing to six practical and action-oriented understandings about validity, reliability, fairness, score reporting, formative assessment, and affective assessment. This book is for busy educators at the classroom and leadership levels who want Tests that are worth the valuable time they take to administer. Tests that accurately measure what student have learned. Tests that fairly reflect teacher and school effectiveness. Tests that provide the instructionally useful data that will help students learn faster and better. Assessment Literacy for Educators in a Hurry is the fastest route to acquiring the measurement moxie necessary to understand and advocate for better assessment practices and build a case for stopping ineffective and harmful ones. In just a few hours' time, you can pick up the knowledge you need to do a whole lot of good—for your students, yourself, and our schools.

All too often, literacy assessments are given only for accountability purposes and fail to be seen as valuable resources for planning and differentiating instruction. This clear, concise book shows K-5 educators how to implement a comprehensive, balanced assessment battery that integrates accountability concerns with data-driven instruction. Teachers learn to use different types of test scores to understand and address students' specific learning needs. The book features an in-depth case example of a diverse elementary school that serves many struggling readers and English language learners. Reproducible planning and progress monitoring forms can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.