The Ambiguity of Teaching to the Test

2004-04-12
The Ambiguity of Teaching to the Test

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  • Author: William A. Firestone
  • Publisher: Routledge
  • ISBN: 1135624216
  • Category : Education
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 112

Testing is one of the most controversial of all state and federal educational policies. The effects of testing are quite ambiguous. The same test may lead to different consequences in different circumstances, and teachers may use very different strategies to prepare students for tests. Although most experts agree that mandatory testing leads to teaching to the test, they disagree about whether it leads to meaningless drill, wasted time, de-professionalizing teachers, and demotivating students, or to more challenging and thoughtful curricula, more engaging teaching, increased student motivation, and increased accountability. To help sort through this ambiguity and provide a firmer basis for decisions, The Ambiguity of Teaching to the Test: Standards, Assessment, and Educational Reform offers a hard look at the effects of state testing, and thoroughly examines the ambiguity of test preparation and how test preparation practices are influenced by what teachers know and the leadership coming from the school and district. Drawing on data from a three-year study of New Jersey's testing policy in elementary mathematics and science, it helps to explain the variety of ways that teachers modify their teaching in response to state tests, raises important questions, and offers useful guidance on how state policymakers and local and district school administrators can implement policies that will improve educational equity and performance for all students. It also offers an in-depth analysis of classroom practices that should inform teachers and teacher educators whose goal is to meaningfully implement conceptually based teaching practices. This comprehensive look at the statewide variation in testing practice features: *a data-based, non-ideological treatment of how testing affects teachers, in a field characterized by ideologically driven beliefs and by anecdotes; *an extensive and well-integrated combination of qualitative and quantitative data sources that provide a statewide overview, as well as an in-depth analysis of teachers and classrooms; *a careful analysis of the variety of forms of teaching to the test; and *a multilevel exploration of how a variety of personal and leadership factors can influence teaching to the test. This is an important book for researchers, professionals, and students in educational testing, educational policy, educational administration, mathematics and science education, educational reform, and the politics and sociology of education. It will also prove useful for state policymakers, school and district leaders, and teacher educators and curriculum specialists who are making decisions about how to design and respond to new testing systems.

What Every Elementary Teacher Needs to Know About Reading Tests

2023-10-10
What Every Elementary Teacher Needs to Know About Reading Tests

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  • Author: Charles Fuhrken
  • Publisher: Taylor & Francis
  • ISBN: 1003843565
  • Category : Education
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 333

When he was a student struggling to concentrate on dreadfully boring passages of standardized reading tests, Charles Fuhrken remembers thinking to himself, 'Who writes this stuff?' He had no idea that one day it would be him. ' Fuhrken has spent years working as a writer for several major testing companies, and he believes that what he's learned about testing could be very usefuleven liberatingfor teachers interested in teaching effective reading strategies as well as preparing students for reading tests. In What Every Elementary Teacher Needs to Know About Reading Tests (From Someone Who Has Written Them), Fuhrken' takes the mystery out of reading tests. He explains how reading tests are created, how standards are interpreted and assessed, and how students can apply their knowledge of reading to standardized tests.' ' What Every Elementary Teacher Needs to Know About Reading Tests sets the record straight about the myths and realities of tests and offers extensive, practical strategies that help students perform well on test day. This ready to use, easy to understand resource provides a wealth of information about reading tests, including high-quality preparation materials; samples of the most frequently assessed reading standards; and more than thirty engaging, core-reading activities. ' Tests require a special kind of savvy, a kind of critical thinking and knowledge-application that is not always a part of classroom reading experiences. That's why teachers need to provide students with sound, specific information about reading tests. Only then can students feel prepared and confident on test day. '

Educational Assessment

2008
Educational Assessment

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  • Author: Robert J. Wright
  • Publisher: SAGE
  • ISBN: 1412949173
  • Category : Education
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 665

Educational Tests and Measurements in the Age of Accountability is a core text for use in a first level graduate course in educational measurement and testing. In addition to covering the topics traditionally found in core textbooks for this course, this text also provides coverage of contemporary topics (including national testing programs, international achievement comparisons, the value added assessment of schools and teachers, and the public policy debate on selective admissions vs. affirmative minority enrollment).

What Every Middle School Teacher Needs to Know About Reading Tests

2023-10-10
What Every Middle School Teacher Needs to Know About Reading Tests

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  • Author: Charles Fuhrken
  • Publisher: Taylor & Francis
  • ISBN: 1003842054
  • Category : Education
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 263

Tests require a special kind of savvy, a kind of critical thinking and knowledge application that is not always a part of classroom reading experiences. Who better to teach you how to prepare your students for reading tests than someone who has written them? Charles Fuhrken has spent years working with several major testing companies and contributing to the reading assessments of various testing programs. What he' s learned about testing can help teachers who are interested in teaching effective reading strategies as well as preparing students for reading tests. What Every Middle School Teacher Needs to Know About Reading Tests (From Someone Who Has Written Them)' offers extensive, practical strategies to help students perform well on test day. This ready-to-use, easy-to-understand resource provides a wealth of information about reading tests, including high-quality preparation materials, samples of the most frequently assessed reading standards, and engaging core-reading activities. Charles takes the mystery out of reading tests; he explains how students can learn the language of tests and apply their knowledge of reading to standardized tests. In addition to providing information about reading tests that will help students feel prepared and confident on test day,' What Every Middle School Teacher Needs to Know About Reading Tests' provides a wealth of resources that can be incorporated into a teacher' s everyday reading work, including vocabulary development, literary techniques, interpretation, comprehension, and more.

Handbook of Human and Social Conditions in Assessment

2016-06-23
Handbook of Human and Social Conditions in Assessment

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  • Author: Gavin T. L. Brown
  • Publisher: Routledge
  • ISBN: 1317608186
  • Category : Education
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 586

The Handbook of Human and Social Conditions in Assessment is the first book to explore assessment issues and opportunities occurring due to the real world of human, cultural, historical, and societal influences upon assessment practices, policies, and statistical modeling. With chapters written by experts in the field, this book engages with numerous forms of assessment: from classroom-level formative assessment practices to national accountability and international comparative testing practices all of which are significantly influenced by social and cultural conditions. A unique and timely contribution to the field of Educational Psychology, the Handbook of Human and Social Conditions in Assessment is written for researchers, educators, and policy makers interested in how social and human complexity affect assessment at all levels of learning. Organized into four sections, this volume examines assessment in relation to teachers, students, classroom conditions, and cultural factors. Each section is comprised of a series of chapters, followed by a discussant chapter that synthesizes key ideas and offers directions for future research. Taken together, the chapters in this volume demonstrate that teachers, test creators, and policy makers must account for the human and social conditions that shape assessment if they are to implement successful assessment practices which accomplish their intended outcomes.

Educational Assessment

2007-12-21
Educational Assessment

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  • Author: Robert J. Wright
  • Publisher: SAGE Publications
  • ISBN: 1544304005
  • Category : Education
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 664

Grounded in the real world of public schools and students, this engaging, insightful, and highly readable text introduces the inner-workings of K–12 educational assessment. There has never been a time when it is more important for educators to have an understanding of testing and assessments. Accountability is now a fact of life for all public school educators, and testing is at the core of all educational assessment programs. It is no longer prudent or even possible for educators to ignore this national zeitgeist. Educational Assessment: Tests and Measurements in the Age of Accountability addresses all of the constructs central to understanding the design, construction and evaluation of educational measures. It goes on to provide students with insight into the link between today's high-stakes testing mandates and the traditions of the past 125 years of "scientific" measurement in the United States. It addresses the problem of understanding and correctly interpreting test scores on local, statewide, national, and international assessments. It also addresses how certain issues such as institutionalized cheating, test preparation, and individual differences among students and their families influence test score outcomes. Key Features Covers traditional topics in an approachable and understandable way: Reliability, validity, performance assessments, standardized achievement tests, and many more topics are included. Analyzes and interprets "hot-button" issues of today's complex measurement concerns: The score-gap, high-stakes testing, grade retention, drop-out crises, "academic redshirting,", diversity, family influence, and educational technology, are examined. Relates theory to practice: Each chapter includes relevant real-life examples and case studies to demonstrate how the technical-measurement principles impact those involved. Addresses the needs of diverse students: Issues related to students with special needs and the testing of English Language Learners are discussed. Ancillaries Instructors' Resources on CD-Rom include PowerPoint slides, Web resources, suggested answers for each chapter's discussion questions, and a sample syllabus. The CD also includes Brownstone's Diploma Test Bank software so that instructors can create, customize, and deliver tests. Qualified instructors can contact Customer Care at 1-800-818-SAGE (7243) from 6am - 5pm PT to request a copy. A web-based Student Study Site at www.sagepub.com/wrightstudy provides chapter objectives, flash cards, and practice tests. Intended Audience: Educational Assessment: Tests and Measurements in the Age of Accountability has been written to meet the needs of students in graduate programs of special education, reading, school counseling, school social work, curriculum supervision, or administration. Providing grounding in all aspects of measurement, this book is perfect for undergraduate and graduate courses such as Educational Tests and Measurements, Assessment in Education, and Student Assessment.

Assessment Reform in Science

2006-02-03
Assessment Reform in Science

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  • Author: Benny B.H.W Yung
  • Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
  • ISBN: 1402034083
  • Category : Science
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 303

The conclusions and recommendations made in this book are derived from a study of ten teachers in Hong Kong as they tried to change their practice following a reform of the Hong Kong assessment system. Hong Kong is simply a context that provided the opportunity to gather very rich and informative data on issues pertaining to assessment reforms which also have very wide implications in many countries’ contexts. The text is written in a lucid and easy-to-read style.

Short Cycle Assessment

2013-09-27
Short Cycle Assessment

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  • Author: Susan Lang
  • Publisher: Routledge
  • ISBN: 1317923065
  • Category : Education
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 225

This book shows you how to improve student achievement by providing them with frequent feedback on their work. It provides a step-by-step process to help you write good questions that asses student learning, design your own formative assessments, administer short-cycle assessments, analyze and use data to shape instruction, prepare your students for high-stakes tests, and includes activities and forms to walk you through the process step by step.

From Testing to Productive Student Learning

2012-03-12
From Testing to Productive Student Learning

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  • Author: David Carless
  • Publisher: Routledge
  • ISBN: 1136467475
  • Category : Education
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 341

Research evidence indicates that formative assessment is one of the most effective ways of enhancing student learning. It is, however, difficult to implement successfully, principally because what is tested through summative assessment has such a powerful influence on teacher and student actions. This book scrutinizes the relationship between testing and learning from alternative perspectives to the dominant literature from the major Anglophone countries. It develops the notion of contextually grounded formative assessment practices by analyzing data from schools in the Confucian-heritage setting of Hong Kong. It explores questions such as: • Under what circumstances do tests support or hinder student learning? • How can teachers effectively prepare students for tests and appropriately follow up after tests? • What are the key socio-cultural influences impacting on testing and student learning in the classroom? • How do teachers change in their orientation towards assessment and what support do they require? This text is a valuable resource for education students, professionals and researchers, policy-makers and curriculum developers.

SAGE Handbook of Research on Classroom Assessment

2013
SAGE Handbook of Research on Classroom Assessment

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  • Author: James H. McMillan
  • Publisher: SAGE
  • ISBN: 1412995876
  • Category : Education
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 577

The Sage Handbook of Research on Classroom Assessment provides scholars, professors, graduate students, and other researchers and policy makers in the organizations, agencies, testing companies, and school districts with a comprehensive source of research on all aspects of K-12 classroom assessment. The handbook emphasizes theory, conceptual frameworks, and all varieties of research (quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods) to provide an in-depth understanding of the knowledge base in each area of classroom assessment and how to conduct inquiry in the area. It presents classroom assessment research to convey, in depth, the state of knowledge and understanding that is represented by the research, with particular emphasis on how classroom assessment practices affect student achieventment and teacher behavior. Editor James H. McMillan and five Associate Editors bring the best thinking and analysis from leading classroom assessment researchers on the nature of the research, making significant contributions to this prominent and hotly debated topic in education.