Assessing Academic Achievement » (1st Edition)

Assessing Academic Achievement approaches student assessment as an integral component of a total educational plan rather than as an ancillary.

The author draws on years of first-hand experience in both public school and university settings, suggesting that frequently educators disconnect assessment from the other elements of their educational plan. This book balances traditional methods of "authentic assessment" with an investigation and evaluation of alternative approaches. The result is an eclectic approach that exposes students to a full range of assessment principles. MARLET: For anyone interested in Educational Psychology / School Psychology.

Each chapter concludes with “Summary.”

Preface.

I. A CONTEXT FOR ASSESSMENT.

1. Assessment and Education.

The State of Things.

The Position.

The Language of Assessment.

Assessment as a Component of the Educational Plan.

Referencing Assessment.

The Balance of the Book.

2. Using Assessment Data to Inform Instruction.

The Role of Assessment.

Pursuing the Connection between Assessment and Instruction.

Making Assessment Serve the Other Components of the Plan.

II. ASSESSING PERFORMANCE ACCORDING TO CRITERIA.

3. Specifying the Standard and Focusing on the Outcome.

Educational Reform.

The Concept of a Performance Gauge.

Focusing on the Outcome.

The Dimensions of the Educational Standard.

The Standard and the Educational Plan.

4. Employing Authentic Assessment.

The Case for Changes in Assessment.

Alternative Approaches to Assessment.

Authentic Assessment.

Principles of Authentic Assessment.

Validity in Authentic Assessment.

Variations on the Theme: Authentic Assessment Choices.

Authentic Assessment and Grading.

5. Grading Students and Evaluating Instruction.

Grading and Communication.

Grading in Context.

Grading Purposes and Procedures.

Choosing the Symbols.

Evaluating the Teaching.

Other Views of Teacher Assessment.

Formative versus Summative Teacher Assessment.

III. TRADITIONAL CLASSROOM TESTS.

6. Test Item Types and Item Construction.

Difficult Beginnings.

What Are We Assessing?

7. Constructing Tests and Analyzing Test Data.

Test-Constructed Assessments and Published Assessments.

Test Specifications.

Determining the Quality of the Assessment Data.

Evaluating the Assessment Item.

IV.NORM-REFERENCED ASSESSMENT.

8. Assessing Aptitudes and Attitudes.

Other Learner Dimensions to Assess.

Validity Issues.

The Normative Assumption.

Assessment and Standardized Testing.

Assessing Attitude.

Academic Aptitude and the Concept of Mental Traits.

Assessing Achievement.

Assessment and Learning Style.

Students with Disabilities.

9. Assessment Data and Description.

Breadth versus Depth.

Different Kinds of Assessment Data.

Classical Test Theory and the Standard Error of Measurement.

Measurement Error and Test Bias.

A Closer Look at What We're Assessing: Factor Analysis.

10.Understanding Standardized Tests.

The Case for Standardized Testing.

Standardized Test Scores.

Factors That May Influence Test Performance.

Opposition to Standardized Testing.

V.OTHER ASSESSMENT ISSUES.

11. The Computer as an Assessment Tool.

The Computer Revolution in Education.

Computers and Educational Assessment.

Computers and Test Development.

Computers and Test Administration.

Computers and Test Analysis.

Static versus Dynamic Assessment.

Computer-Adaptive Testing.

Computer Generations in Educational Assessment.

Group Differences in Computer Use.

12. Ethical Considerations in Assessment.

Considering Assessment Ethics.

Teaching to the Test.

Test Bias.

A Code of Fair Testing.

13. Selected Advanced Topics in Classroom Assessment.

Breadth versus Depth.

Standard Setting.

Decision Errors.

Formula Scoring.

Item Response Theory: An Alternative to Classical Test Theory.

Authentic Assessment.

Glossary.

Bibliography.

Index.