Special Report

New Directions in Assessment

March 5, 2014
Addressing an area of both frustration and possibility for many teachers, this online story package explores new developments and trends in the practice of testing and assessment in schools. The stories focus on initiatives designed to link assessment more closely with classroom learning and instruction and thus provide integral solutions for teachers.
  • BRIC ARCHIVE
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    Standards Q&A The Coming Age of Instructionally Integrated Testing
    James W. Pellegrino, an expert on cognitive science and psychometrics, offers his views on what's next in educational assessment and how it will change teaching and learning.
    Anthony Rebora, March 5, 2014
    11 min read
    Education Classroom-Assessment Techniques: A Video Collection
    In these videos from our editorial partners at Teaching Channel, accomplished educators demonstrate the creative assessment techniques they use to track student learning.
    March 5, 2014
    2 min read
    Teaching Teachers May Need to Deepen Assessment Practices for Common Core
    As teachers transition to common standards, experts say they may need to take on more of a "teacher- researcher" role in the classroom.
    Liana Loewus, March 5, 2014
    7 min read
    Reading & Literacy District's 'Data Literacy' Campaign Zeroes In on Students' Written Work
    A school district in southwestern Oregon is making a concerted effort to ensure the data its teachers collect and analyze prominently include samples of students' discursive writing.
    Anthony Rebora, March 5, 2014
    6 min read
    Assessment Opinion My Assessment Problem: A Desk-Eye View
    The idea that a standardized assessment can measure something so broad and nebulous as "critical thinking" or "college readiness" or "teacher efficacy" should be given up entirely, says high school English teacher Ilana Garon.
    Ilana Garon, March 5, 2014
    8 min read
    Standards Opinion The Common-Core Assessments: What Math Teachers Need to Know
    Veteran high school mathematics teacher Alison Wright dissects the common-core-aligned assessments being developed by the national consortia.
    Ali Wright, March 5, 2014
    6 min read
    Courtney Horan, a 1st grade teacher at P.S. 173 Fresh Meadows School in Queens, N.Y., conducts a reading conference with a student. Fresh Meadows uses a performance-assessment program designed by Teachers College, Columbia University, to measure students' reading skills and understanding.
    Courtney Horan, a 1st grade teacher at P.S. 173 Fresh Meadows School in Queens, N.Y., conducts a reading conference with a student. Fresh Meadows uses a performance-assessment program designed by Teachers College, Columbia University, to measure students' reading skills and understanding.
    Melanie Burford for Education Week
    Assessment Performance Assessment Re-Emerging in Schools
    Looking for better ways to measure the "deeper learning" goals of the common standards, schools are increasingly turning to formalized performance tasks.
    Ross Brenneman, March 4, 2014
    8 min read