This practical resource helps elementary classroom, remedial reading, and LD teachers make the best possible informal assessment of a child's specific reading, writing, and spelling strengths and weaknesses and attitudes toward reading. Written in easy-to-follow nontechnical language, it provides a multitude of tested informal assessment strategies and devices, such as kid watching, retellings, journals, IRIs, writing surveys, portfolios, think alouds and more - including over 200 reproducible assessment devices ready for immediate use! You'll find a detailed description of each informal assessment technique along with step-by-step procedures for its use and, wherever possible, one or more reproducible sample devices. Complete answer keys for each device are included with the directions. Among the unique topics covered are the innovative Individual Reading Inventory, San Diego Quick Assessment List, El Paso Phonics Survey, QAD Chart, Holistic scoring of writing and Reproducible devices for portfolio assessment. In short, Alternative Assessment Techniques for Reading and Writing offers a wealth of tested, ready-to-use informal assessment information and devices that should save the teacher a great deal of time and energy in making a useful assessment of any student's literacy ability!

This practical resource helps elementary classroom, remedial reading, and LD teachers make the best possible informal assessment of a child's specific reading, writing, and spelling strengths and weaknesses and attitudes toward reading. Written in easy-to-follow nontechnical language, it provides a multitude of tested informal assessment strategies and devices, such as "kid watching," retellings, journals, IRIs, writing surveys, portfolios, think alouds and more-- including more than 200 reproducible assessment devices ready for immediate use! You'll find a detailed description of each informal assessment techniques along with step-by-step procedures for its use and, wherever possible, one or more reproducible sample devices. Complete answer keys for each device are included with the directions. Among the unique topics covered are the innovative Individual Reading Inventory, San Diego Quick Assessment List, El Paso Phonics Survey, QAD Chart, Holistic scoring of writing and Reproducible devices for portfolio assessment. In short, Alternative Assessment Techniques for Reading and Writing offers a wealth of tested, ready-to-use informal assessment information and devices that should save the teacher a great deal of time and energy in making a useful assessment of any student's literacy ability!

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.

The grading process can yield rich information about student learning. Effective Grading enables faculty to go beyond using grades as isolated artifacts and helps them make classroom grading processes more fair, time-efficient, and conducive to learning. Classroom assessment of student learning can then contribute to departmental and general-education assessment in ways that meet the needs of institutions and accrediting agencies. Tailored to specific needs of faculty members who seek to make grading a valuable part of student learning and motivation, Effective Grading balances assessment theory and hands-on advice. It offers an in-depth examination of the link between teaching and grading and provides concrete guidance on such critical steps as setting and communicating grading standards, developing assignments to grade, managing time spent on grading, and providing feedback for students.

"The Cambridge Guide to Second Language Assessment aims to present in one volume an up-to-date guide to the central areas of assessing the second language performance of English by speakers of other languages. This volume provides snapshots of significant issues and trends that have shaped language assessment in the past and highlights the current state of our understanding of these issues"--

Introducing students to the methods and debates associated with language testing assessment, this book explores the testing of linguistic competence of children, students, asylum seekers and many others in context of the uses to which such research can be put. It also presents and comments on key readings and articles.

Develop effective alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS). With this practical guidebook, K-12 educators will modify assessments and ensure high-quality instruction that leads to better outcomes.

The untold story of the root cause of America's education crisis--and the seemingly endless cycle of multigenerational poverty. It was only after years within the education reform movement that Natalie Wexler stumbled across a hidden explanation for our country's frustrating lack of progress when it comes to providing every child with a quality education. The problem wasn't one of the usual scapegoats: lazy teachers, shoddy facilities, lack of accountability. It was something no one was talking about: the elementary school curriculum's intense focus on decontextualized reading comprehension "skills" at the expense of actual knowledge. In the tradition of Dale Russakoff's The Prize and Dana Goldstein's The Teacher Wars, Wexler brings together history, research, and compelling characters to pull back the curtain on this fundamental flaw in our education system--one that fellow reformers, journalists, and policymakers have long overlooked, and of which the general public, including many parents, remains unaware. But The Knowledge Gap isn't just a story of what schools have gotten so wrong--it also follows innovative educators who are in the process of shedding their deeply ingrained habits, and describes the rewards that have come along: students who are not only excited to learn but are also acquiring the knowledge and vocabulary that will enable them to succeed. If we truly want to fix our education system and unlock the potential of our neediest children, we have no choice but to pay attention.

Discover what really works in alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards. This book gathers cutting-edge knowledge and best practices in seven states to help readers work toward accurate assessment of students with severe disabilities.

A teacher presents a lesson, and at the end asks students if they understand the material. The students nod and say they get it. Later, the teacher is dismayed when many of the students fail a test on the material. Why aren’t students getting it? And, just as important, why didn’t the teacher recognize the problem? In Checking for Understanding, Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey show how to increase students’ understanding with the help of creative formative assessments. When used regularly, formative assessments enable every teacher to determine what students know and what they still need to learn. Fisher and Frey explore a variety of engaging activities that check for and increase understanding, including interactive writing, portfolios, multimedia presentations, audience response systems, and much more. This new 2nd edition of Checking for Understanding has been updated to reflect the latest thinking in formative assessment and to show how the concepts apply in the context of Fisher and Frey’s work on gradual release of responsibility, guided instruction, formative assessment systems, data analysis, and quality instruction. Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey are the creators of the Framework for Intentional and Targeted (FIT) Teaching™. They are also the authors of numerous ASCD books, including The Formative Assessment Action Plan: Practical Steps to More Successful Teaching and Learning and the best-selling Enhancing RTI: How to Ensure Success with Effective Classroom Instruction and Intervention.