"Burke has challenged teachers everywhere to raise their standards and design classroom assessments that show evidence of understanding and performance on complex tasks. The expert examples in this book provide teachers with a complete road map so that assessment is truly at the heart of instruction." —Diane Ray, Assistant Director for Teacher Leader Development Professional Association of Georgia Educators Create assessments that meet state standards and target students' learning needs! For many years, assessment was relegated to a secondary role in the educational process. But with the increased emphasis on high-stakes testing, effective assessment has emerged as one of the major factors in raising student achievement. In this latest edition of her bestseller, renowned educator Kay Burke provides a wide range of updated, easy-to-implement alternative assessments that address today's accountability requirements and focus on improving learning. Designed for use across all content areas, these formative assessments are rooted in the language of state standards and emphasize differentiating instruction to meet students' individual learning needs. Revised throughout with updated research, this new edition helps K–12 teachers: Build Response to Intervention checklists for struggling students Develop unit plans using differentiated learning and assessment strategies Create portfolios that emphasize metacognition Design performance tasks that motivate and engage students Construct rubrics that describe indicators of quality work Create tests that focus on higher-order thinking skills Offering numerous applications and examples, How to Assess Authentic Learning guides teachers in developing the assessment tools needed to help all students meet or exceed mandated academic standards.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments About the Author Introduction Standardized Tests and Classroom Assessments Assessment Literacy Accountability Grading Traditional Cognitive Science Assessment and Evaluation Definitions of Performance Assessment Portfolios Balanced Assessment And Now...the Tools! 1. Student Learning Standards What Are Learning Standards and Benchmarks? What Is the Standards Movement? How Did the Standards Movement Begin? What Are Preformance Standards? Why Do We Need Standards? How Can We Use Standards? Final Thoughts 2. Differentiated Learning What Is Differentiated Learning? What Are the Multiple Intelligences? Why Should We Use Differentiation? How Should We Use the Multiple intelligences? Final Thoughts 3. Student Portfolios What is a Portfolio? Why Should We Use Portfolios? How Can We Implement Portfolios? Final Thoughts 4. Performance Tasks and Rubrics What Are Performance Tasks? Why Should We Use Performance Tasks? How Should We Create Performance Tasks? How Should We Assess Performance Tasks? Final Thoughts 5. Checklists and Rubrics What Are Checklists? Why Should We Use Checklists? How Should We Use Checklists? What Are Rubrics? How Should We Use Rubrics? How Can Rubrics Be Used? What is the Checklist-Rubrics Connection? How Do We Create Assessments? Final Thoughts 6. Metacognition What Is Metacognitive Reflection? Why Should We Use Megacognitive Reflection? How Should We Use Megacognitive Reflection? What Are Learning Logs and Journals? Why Should We Use Learning Logs and Journals? How Should We Use Learning Logs and Journals? How Should We Assess Learning Logs and Journals?? Finals Thoughts 7. Graphic Organizers What Are Graphic Organizers? Why Should We Use Graphic Organizers? How Should Graphic Organizers Be Used For Assessment? Final Thoughts 8. Teacher-Made Tests What Are Teacher-Made Tests? Why Do We Need Teacher-Made Tests? How Can We Design Better Teacher-Made Tests? Final Thoughts 9. Interviews and Conferences What Are Interviews and Conferences? Why Should We Use Interviews and Conferences? How Should We Assess Interviews and Conferences? Final Thoughts Conclusion Resources: Performance Task Units Resource A: Investigating Rocks, Minerals, and Soils in Third-Grade Science Resource B: A Middle School Economics Performance Task Resource C: Using Algebra to Plan a Garden Party Resource D: Foreign Language Performance Task for Middle and High School Resource E: Thinking About Themes Through texts and Tasks in Literature, Grades 9-12 References Index