Understanding Assessment

This bestselling book is still the best choice for helping early childhood teachers understand the process of assessment and evaluation to benefit young children. With the advent of the No Child Left Behind Act, testing, accountability, and standards are now pervasive throughout early childhood education. Completely revised to address the issues that have been raised by these new policies, the Second Edition features completely new chapters on: assessment of children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, addressing the new makeup of today's classroom; assessment of children with special needs, focusing on the relationship among assessment, curriculum, and instruction; and the addition of a helpful glossary of terms and an annotated listing of assessment instruments used in early childhood education.

This clear, no-nonsense book guides current and future teachers through the concepts, tools, methods, and goals of classroom literacy assessment. The expert authors examine the roles of formative, summative, and benchmark assessments; demystify state and national tests and standards; and show how assessment can seamlessly inform instruction. Strategies for evaluating, choosing, and interpreting assessments are discussed, as are ways to communicate data to parents and administrators. User-friendly resources include boxed vignettes from teachers and researchers, practical assessment tips (and traps to avoid), and 12 reproducible planning forms and handouts. Purchasers get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.

A ‘one-stop shop’ for assessment for student teachers covering all major assessment types carefully balancing theory with practical case studies and classroom activities.

This is the first title in this new series, which is aimed principally at secondary PGCE and BAEd students and school- and HEI-based tutors. Each book provides a digest of the central issues around a particular topic or issues, grounded in or supported by examples of good practice, with suggestions for further reading, study and investigation. The books are not intended as 'how to' books, but rather as books which will help students and teachers to explore and understand critical theoretical issues in ways that are challenging, that invite critical reappraisals of taken-for-granted practices and perceptions, and that provide appropriate links between theory and practice. Issues related to equal opportunities and special needs are included in each separate volume . There are boxes of questions, 'think abouts' , further reading, and bulleted summary lists for the reader. This book is written specifically for teachers-in-training which will clarify the 'big picture' of monitoring and assessment and makes the crucial distinctions in this large (and still taken-for-granted) field. The authors have written widely on assessment matters and have also worked in various capacities for the QCA (and its former manifestations). They are also engagerd in initial teacher education and so know the level and market extremely well.

This is the first title in this new series, which is aimed principally at secondary PGCE and BAEd students and school- and HEI-based tutors. Each book provides a digest of the central issues around a particular topic or issues, grounded in or supported by examples of good practice, with suggestions for further reading, study and investigation. The books are not intended as 'how to' books, but rather as books which will help students and teachers to explore and understand critical theoretical issues in ways that are challenging, that invite critical reappraisals of taken-for-granted practices and perceptions, and that provide appropriate links between theory and practice. Issues related to equal opportunities and special needs are included in each separate volume . There are boxes of questions, 'think abouts' , further reading, and bulleted summary lists for the reader. This book is written specifically for teachers-in-training which will clarify the 'big picture' of monitoring and assessment and makes the crucial distinctions in this large (and still taken-for-granted) field. The authors have written widely on assessment matters and have also worked in various capacities for the QCA (and its former manifestations). They are also engagerd in initial teacher education and so know the level and market extremely well.

An ideal step-by-step reference for instructors who have not had specific training in assessing students with special needs, Understanding Assessment in the Special Education Process helps educators make the most effective use of available assessment options.

Understanding assessment and being able to use it effectively is at the heart of successful primary teaching. Aware of current policy and research, this book looks at the role and purpose of assessment within education, as well as providing detailed practical guidance on the main types of classroom assessment, including formative, summative, formal and informal methods. Real classroom examples and activities illustrate the practical uses, benefits, and limitations of each form of assessment, enabling you to feel confident about implementing these strategies in your own teaching. Coverage includes: The assessment planning cycle Innovative forms of assessment, including portfolios, debates, role play and mind mapping Assessment of learners with diverse needs, including SEN and EAL The use of technology in assessment Engaging children through self-assessment and peer-assessment This is essential reading for all primary initial teacher education courses, including university-based (PGCE, PGDE, BA QTS, BEd), school-based (SCITT, School Direct, Teach First) and employment-based routes into teaching, and beginning teachers. Sue Faragher is Head of Al Basma British School, a large private school in Abu Dhabi.

This book offers students and trainees a thorough guide to clinical assessment. It covers different types of clinical assessment and explores the implications of the alternative views on clients′ needs and treatment. It explores clinical assessment as an ′art and science′ and brings the reader up to date with new requirements placed on therapists in both organisational and clinical practice based settings. In addition to outlining models for clinical assessment, it looks at the use of evidence-based practice in assessments. There are sections on doing assessments within organisations as well as from private practice.