Assessment And Testing In The Primary School

First Published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Effective evaluation of a pupil’s performance and of resources available is a vital part of successful teaching. Originally published in 1983, this non-statistical guide aims to help teachers organise their work so as to improve their assessment of their pupils and also to analyse their own management efforts. A model is developed showing how teachers can progressively structure their work to increase the objectivity of their assessment. The use of published tests and the production of tests by teachers is covered, but the focus throughout is on the part played by assessment in the organisation of learning. The steps recommended are arranged so that the first yield the largest return. But none requires any statistical expertise or a large investment of time. The second part of the book shows how schools can be evaluated by their staff – school organisation, staff development and the curriculum are given special attention in this step-by-step guide to effective and rewarding school assessment.

This is an innovative yet practical resource book for teachers, focusing on the classroom and covering vital skills for primary and secondary teachers. The book is strongly influenced by the findings of numerous research projects during which hundreds of teachers were observed at work. This book addresses both formal and informal ways of assessing children's work and progress. Pupils' learning is often neglected in the debate, so this book puts what children actually learn right at its centre. Divided into six units, Ted Wragg addresses important topics such as: * principles and purposes of assessment * written, oral and practical evaluation * self-assessment the 'whole school' approach * staff development and appraisal. The inclusion of practical activities, discussion topics, photographs, cartoons and case examples makes this a very user-friendly book for both trainee and experienced teachers in primary schools.

First Published in 2004. The terms ‘assessment’ and ‘testing’ conjure up all sorts of images in most people’s minds. Rows of desks in quiet halls, working to the clock, trying to remember the answers to obscure and sometimes irrelevant questions. Recent invitations to teachers to reflect upon an occasion when they remember being assessed or tested drew up long-forgotten memories of the 11-plus or taking a first driving test. Often these were memories tinged with unhappiness, sadness and a feeling of failure. Assessment for many of us has been an emotional experience and it is not surprising that we should reject facing children with such experiences too early in their lives. This book looks at assessment as a positive experience in the primary classroom, as a fundamental feature of teaching and successful learning

Amplify your assessment literacy. Formative, data-driven, high-stakes—we all know the buzzwords surrounding educational testing. But we often shelve our understanding of these because they are overwhelmingly complex. Those who care about our schools and students—teachers, administrators, policymakers, parents, citizens—will discover how and why testing should be taken upon ourselves to advance. Using a nontechnical approach, this book offers fundamental knowledge to free you from testing fogginess—all framed around practical actions you can take to strengthen your assessment literacy. Inappropriate tests are leading to mistaken decisions, and this book provides everything you need to know to change that, including Reasons for tests Reliability/validity Fairness Test-building

Education is a hot topic. From the stage of presidential debates to tonight's dinner table, it is an issue that most Americans are deeply concerned about. While there are many strategies for improving the educational process, we need a way to find out what works and what doesn't work as well. Educational assessment seeks to determine just how well students are learning and is an integral part of our quest for improved education. The nation is pinning greater expectations on educational assessment than ever before. We look to these assessment tools when documenting whether students and institutions are truly meeting education goals. But we must stop and ask a crucial question: What kind of assessment is most effective? At a time when traditional testing is subject to increasing criticism, research suggests that new, exciting approaches to assessment may be on the horizon. Advances in the sciences of how people learn and how to measure such learning offer the hope of developing new kinds of assessments-assessments that help students succeed in school by making as clear as possible the nature of their accomplishments and the progress of their learning. Knowing What Students Know essentially explains how expanding knowledge in the scientific fields of human learning and educational measurement can form the foundations of an improved approach to assessment. These advances suggest ways that the targets of assessment-what students know and how well they know it-as well as the methods used to make inferences about student learning can be made more valid and instructionally useful. Principles for designing and using these new kinds of assessments are presented, and examples are used to illustrate the principles. Implications for policy, practice, and research are also explored. With the promise of a productive research-based approach to assessment of student learning, Knowing What Students Know will be important to education administrators, assessment designers, teachers and teacher educators, and education advocates.