Written for pre-service teacher candidates who have little or no classroom experience, Rick Stiggins’ multiple award-winning and market-leading text focuses squarely on preparing new teachers to assess students in classrooms, providing them with their initial orientation to classroom assessment and to the challenges they will face in monitoring student learning, in using the assessment process, and its results to benefit their students. The text clearly instructs teaching candidates on how to gather dependable evidence of student learning using quality assessments and how to use those assessments to support and to certify student learning. The book has an exceptionally strong focus on integrating assessment with instruction through student involvement in the assessment process; it is clearly the most non-technical and hands on practical orientation to assessment validity and reliability yet developed. It offers five easy-to-understand keys to effective classroom assessment practice that any teacher can learn to apply. The presentation covers the full range of classroom assessment methods, when and how to use them and how to communicate results in ways that support learning.  Examples and models are offered across grade levels and schools subjects to assist candidates in learning these things. The treatment of student-involved assessment, record keeping, and communication as an instructional intervention is a unique entity of the text.  Specific assessment strategies are offered throughout for helping students see the learning target from the beginning and then watch themselves move progressively close over time until they achieve ultimate learning success. Showing how to use assessment to accurately reflect student achievement and how to benefit–not merely grade–student learning, the text examines the full spectrum of assessment topics, from articulating targets, through developing quality assessments and communicating results effectively.  

Table of Contents:
Brief Contents   Part I                Introduction to Student-Involved Assessment FOR Learning     Chapter 1                   Classroom Assessment for Student Success     Chapter 2                   Understanding Why We Assess     Chapter 3                   Defining Achievement Standards for Assessment     Chapter 4                   Designing Quality Assessments       Part II               Understanding Assessment Methods     Chapter 5                   Selected Response Assessment     Chapter 6                   Essay Assessment     Chapter 7                   Performance Assessment     Chapter 8                   Personal Communication as Assessment     Chapter 9                   Assessing Dispositions       Part III              Communicating Assessment Results     Chapter 10                 Managing and Communicating Achievement Information     Chapter 11                 Report Cards: Assessments OF Learning     Chapter 12                 Portfolios and Conferences Involve Students in Communication     Chapter 13                 Communicating with Standardized Test Scores     Appendix A            Derivation of Common Norm-Referenced Scores     Appendix B             Rubrics for Evaluating Assessment Quality                                 References                                 Index       Detailed Contents Part I          Introduction to Student-Involved Assessment FOR Learning     Become a Reflective Learner     Keep a Journal to Watch Yourself Grow     Form a Learning Team or Study Group     Companion Website     Chapter 1            Classroom Assessment for Student Success     Chapter Focus     Our Classroom Assessment Responsibilities     A Story of Assessment for Student Success     Success from the Student’s Point of View     The Keys to Success     Some Students Aren’t So Lucky     Other Potential Problems     Anticipating and Avoiding Assessment Problems     Understanding Assessment Validity     Understanding Assessment Reliability     The Changing Role of Assessment     Your Assignment in Standards-Driven Schools     Important Benefits to You     A Fundamental Assessment Belief     Assessment and Student Motivation     Guides to Valid and Reliable Assessment     Guiding Principle 1: Classroom Assessments Can Both Promote and Verify Student Learning     Guiding Principle 2: Clear and Appropriate Achievement Targets Are Essential     Guiding Principle 3: Accurate Classroom Assessment Is Essential     Guiding Principle 4: Sound Assessments Communicate Results Effectively     The Power of Student Involvement     Summary: The Importance of Sound Assessment     Practice with Chapter 1 Ideas     Chapter 2            Understanding Why We Assess     Chapter Focus     The Big Assessment Picture     Classroom Users and Uses     Program-Level Users    Institutional- or Policy-Level Users     Generalizations Across Users and Uses     Therefore, the Keys to Assessment FOR Learning     Summary: Assessment for Many Purposes     Practice with Chapter 2 Ideas     Chapter 3            Defining Achievement Standards for Assessment     Chapter Focus     Validity from a Different Perspective     Defining Achievement Targets     The Benefits of Clear and Appropriate Targets     Control Over Your Professional Success     Student Academic Self-Efficacy     Greater Efficiency     Accurate Classroom Assessments     Sources of Information About Achievement Standards     State and Local Standards     Your Local Written Curriculum     Professional Networking     Types of Achievement Targets     Knowing and Understanding Targets     Reasoning Targets     Performance Skill Targets     Product Development Targets     Dispositional Targets     Summary of Targets     The Critical Standards—Classroom Targets Connection     Deconstructing Standards     Student-Friendly Targets     Summary: Clear Targets Are Essential for Sound Assessment     Practice with Chapter 3 Ideas     Chapter 4            Designing Quality Assessments     Chapter Focus     The Assessment Options     Selected Response Assessment     Essay Assessment     Performance Assessment     Personal Communication as Assessment     Keep the Options in Balance     Design Feature 1: Matching Methods with Targets     Important Things to Remember     Assessing Knowledge and Understanding     Assessing Reasoning Proficiency     Assessing Mastery of Performance Skills     Assessing Proficiency at Creating Products     Assessing Dispositions     The Other Key Features of Quality Assessments     Design Feature 2: Build the Assessment of Quality Ingredients     Design Feature 3: Sample Achievement Appropriately     Design Feature 4: Minimize Bias     Assessment FOR Learning     Summary: A Vision of Excellence in Classroom Assessment     Practice with Chapter 4 Ideas     Part II         Understanding Assessment Methods     Chapter 5            Selected Response Assessment     Chapter Focus     The Most Traditional Assessment Methods     The Foundations of Assessment Quality     Matching Methods to Targets     Assessing Knowledge Mastery     Assessing Reasoning     Assessing Performance Skills     Assessing Products     Summary of Target Matches     The Steps in Assessment Development     Step 1: Preparing a Blueprint     Step 2: Selecting the Specific Material to Assess     Additional Thoughts on Steps 1 and 2     Step 3: Building Test Items from Propositions     Fine Tuning Assessment Applications     Mix Formats     Use Interpretive Exercises     Format the Test Carefully     Work Backwards to Verify Test Quality     Some Final Issues and Reminders     Barriers to Sound Selected Response Assessment     Student Involvement in Selected Response Assessment     Summary: Productive Selected Response Assessment     Practice with Chapter 5 Ideas     Chapter 6            Essay Assessment     Chapter Focus     Assessment Based on Subjective Judgment     Essay Assessment at Work in the Classroom     The Foundations of Assessment Quality     When to Use Essay Assessment     Understanding Reliability: The Role of Judgment in Scoring     Matching Method to Targets     Assessing Knowledge and Understanding     Assessing Reasoning     Assessing Performance Skills     Assessing Product Development Capabilities     Summary of Target Matches     Developing Essay Assessments     Practice Exercise     Assessment Planning     Exercise Development     Developing Essay Scoring Procedures     Barriers to Sound Essay Assessment     Student Involvement in Essay Assessment     Summary: Tapping the Potential of Essay Assessment     Practice with Chapter 6 Ideas     Chapter 7            Performance Assessment     Chapter Focus     Assessment Based on Observation and Professional   Judgment     The Promise and Perils of Performance Assessment     The Foundations of Quality     When to Use Performance Assessment     Performance Assessment Is a Matter of Judgment     Understanding Reliability: Inter-Rater Agreement     Matching Method to Targets     Assessing Knowledge     Assessing Reasoning     Assessing Performance Skills     Assessing Products     Summary of Target—Performance Assessment Matches     Developing Performance Assessments     Never Lose Track of Your Purpose     Defining Performance     Devising Performance Tasks     Fine Tuning Your Use of Performance Assessments     Checking for Bias or Errors in Judgment     Barriers to Sound Performance Assessment     Think Assessment FOR Learning: Involve Students in Performance Assessment     Summary: Thoughtful Development Yields Sound Assessments   and Energized Students     Practice with Chapter 7 Ideas     Chapter 8            Personal Communication as Assessment     Chapter Focus     Classroom Interaction as Evidence of Learning     The Unique Power of Personal Communication     The Foundations of Quality Assessment     When to Use Personal Communication     Understanding Validity and Reliability Issues     Matching Method to Targets     Assessing Knowledge and Understanding     Assessing Reasoning     Assessing Performance Skills and Products     Summary of Target Matches     The Many Forms of Personal Communication as Assessment     Instructional Questions and Answers     Conferences and Interviews     Class Discussions     Oral Examinations     Journals and Logs: Naturals as Assessments FOR Learning     Student-Involved Assessment FOR Learning     Summary: Person-to-Person Assessment     Practice with Chapter 8 Ideas     Chapter 9            Assessing Dispositions     Chapter Focus     School Is Not Just About Academic Achievement     Assessment FOR Learning Involves Student Dispositions     Dispositions as Means to an End     Remain Mindful of Standards of Assessment Quality     But There Is One Critical Difference     Two Very Important Ground Rules     Ground Rule 1: Remember, This Is Personal     Ground Rule 2: Stay in Bounds     Defining Affect as It Relates to Dispositions     School-Related Attitudes     School-Related Values     Academic Self-Efficacy     Interests     Academic Aspirations     Assessment Anxiety     Dispositions, Student Confidence, and Assessment FOR Learning     Variations in Dispositions     Exploring the Assessment Options     Matching Method to Targets     Questionnaires     Performance Observations as Assessments of Dispositions     Personal Communication as a Window to Student Feelings     Summary: Dispositions Can Help Us Boost Achievement     Practice with Chapter 9 Ideas     Part III        Communicating Assessment Results     Chapter 10          Managing and Communicating Achievement Information     Chapter Focus     The Information Management Challenges     The Conditions Underpinning Effective Information Management     The Information Management Options     When Planning for Information Management, Context Is Everything     Information Management in Assessment FOR   Learning Contexts     Informing Students About Themselves     Diagnosing Student Needs     Information Management in Assessment OF Learning Contexts     Assigning Report Card Grades     Other Assessment OF Learning Contexts     The Challenges to Effective Information Sharing     The Risk of Accountability     The Challenge of Too Little Time     What if the Receiver Can’t or Won’t Hear the Message?     Removing the Barriers     The Communication Options     Report Cards     Portfolios of Student Work     Conferences About Student Achievement     Test Scores     Summary of Options     The Conditions Underpinning Effective Information Sharing     Agreeing on the Focus of the Communication     Gathering Accurate Evidence     Using Symbols with Shared Meaning     Managing the Communication Environment     Customs to Rethink     Think Communication FOR Learning     Summary: Communication Is Key to Achievement     Practice with Chapter 10 Ideas     Chapter 11          Report Cards: Assessments OF Learning     Chapter Focus     Report Card Grading     Understanding Our Current Grading Environment     Communicate About What?     Achievement as a Grading Factor     Aptitude as a Grading Factor     Effort as a Grading Factor     Compliance as a Grading Factor     Attitude as a Grading Factor     Summary of Grading Factors     Gathering Achievement Information for Grading Purposes     Step 1: Spelling Out the Big Achievement Picture     Step 2: Turning Your Big Picture into an Assessment Plan     Step 3: From a Plan to Actual Assessments     Step 4: Summarizing the Resulting Information     Step 5: Converting Composite Achievement Scores to a Grade     Report Cards That Deliver Greater Detail     Standards-Based Reporting     Narrative Reporting     Continuous-Progress Reporting     Summary: Communicating with Report Cards     Practice with Chapter 11 Ideas     Chapter 12          Portfolios and Conferences Involve Students in Communication     Chapter Focus     Student-Involved Communication Part 1: Portfolios     Portfolios Provide the Details     Benefits for Teachers and Students     Maintaining Perspective     Keys to Successful Use     Portfolios as Assessment FOR Learning Tools     Dealing with Some Practicalities     Student-Involved Communication Part 2: Conferences     A Productive Experience for All     Necessary Conditions     Conference Formats That Enhance Communication and Learning     Student-Teacher Conferences     Parent-Teacher Conferences     Student-Led Parent Conferences     Communication FOR Learning     Summary: Student-Involved Communication     Practice with Chapter 12 Ideas     Chapter 13          Communicating with Standardized Test Scores     Chapter Focus     Tests That Produce Comparable Results     The Meaning of Scores     The Various Layers of Standardized Testing     The Result: Troubling Contradictions     Addressing the Contradictions: A Guiding Philosophy     Standardized Test Development     Step 1: Clarify Targets     Step 2: Translate Targets into Assessments     Step 3: Develop Test Items     Step 4: Assemble Test and Evaluate for Appropriateness     Step 5: Administer Test to Establish Norms (Norm-Referenced Tests)     Setting Standards of Acceptable Performance (Criterion-Referenced Tests)     Interpretation of Commonly Used Test Scores     Scores Reported on State Assessments     Scores Reported on Commercial Norm-Referenced Tests     Real-World Test Score Interpretation     Implications for Teachers     Above All, Protect the Well-Being of Your Students!     Also, Build Community Awareness     Finally, Maintain Perspective     Summary: Meeting the Challenges of Standardized Testing     The End of Our Studies Together     Practice with Chapter 13 Ideas     Appendix A            Derivation of Common Norm-Referenced Scores     Appendix B             Rubrics for Evaluating Assessment Quality                                 References                                 Index     .