Chapter 11: Challenges and Choices: The Role of Educational Leaders in Effective Assessment By Douglas Reeves :

Article posted January 13, 2010 at 11:00 AM GMT-5 • Reads 113

The author claims that students who are inattentive in class are often remarkably focused on electronic games because these games provide feedback that is accurate, specific, and timely. How can we apply the lessons of electronic games and other instances of effective feedback to improve teaching and learning in our classrooms? Are there examples in your school of students receiving effective feedback?



Grading policies and practices can lead to feedback that is effective or counterproductive. Considering the author’s comments and those of O’Connor in chapter 6, which grading practices in your school should be reviewed?

Chapter 10 : Data on Purpose: Due Diligence to Increase Student Achievement By Stephen White

Article posted January 13, 2010 at 11:06 AM GMT-5 • Reads 157

What is “data on purpose,” and how does it differ from the traditional ways data has been collected and used in schools? What are the differences between second- and first-order change?



How does the author define triangulation? Why do educators use this strategy? What types of questions might educators ask themselves when triangulating data?

Chapter 9 : Content Then Process: Teacher Learning Communities in the Service of Formative Assessment By Dylan Wiliam

Article posted January 13, 2010 at 11:06 AM GMT-5 • Reads 40

Why does the author emphasize that content (what needs to change) must come before process (how to effect that change)?



Why do you think that class-size reduction programs appear to have had such a small effect on student achievement?



What reasons does the author give for the need to distinguish between strategies and techniques?

Chapter 8 : Crossing the Canyon : Helping Students With Special Needs Achieve Proficiency By Linda A. Gregg

Article posted January 13, 2010 at 11:08 AM GMT-5 • Reads 42

The author argues teachers must first determine the purpose of the assessment before choosing the assessment method. What are some of the reasons you assess special needs students? Are the reasons more complex than with regular education students?



What are some of the informal classroom assessment strategies the author describes? How could you integrate these strategies into your classroom? Do you use others that she does not mention?

Chapter 7 : The Journey Toward Effective Assessment for English Language Learners By Lisa Almeida

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Does your school or district adopt a one-size-fits-all approach to teaching English language learners (ELLs), or do you consider the linguistic, cultural, pedagogical, and cognitive needs of each individual student as described by the author?



What are the stages of language acquisition the author describes? Consider your ELL student population. Where do your students fall on the spectrum? How could you assess their stages?

Chapter 6 : The Last Frontier: Tackling the Grading Dilemma By Ken O’Connor

Article posted January 13, 2010 at 11:18 AM GMT-5 • Reads 40

What are the author’s criticisms of traditional grading? Do you agree or disagree with these criticisms?



Why are these guidelines not commonly implemented in many schools across North America, especially in middle schools, high schools, and colleges?



The author suggests that these guidelines will make grades accurate, meaningful, consistent, and supportive of learning. Do you agree?

Chapter 5 : Designing a Comprehensive Approach to Classroom Assessment By Robert J. Marzano

Article posted January 13, 2010 at 11:19 AM GMT-5 • Reads 33

According to the author, what is the most effective type of feedback for students and why?



The author provides several tools that show learning over time. What tools do you use, and do they show student progress toward learning goals? How could you create these tools?

Chapter 4 : Common Formative Assessments: The Centerpiece of an Integrated Standards-Based Assessment System By Larry Ainsworth

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According to the author, how often should busy educators be administering common formative assessments for learning, and what should they be doing with the data they receive from these assessments?



Which of the author’s suggestions for getting started in implementing common formative assessments make the most sense for you to follow?

Chapter 3 : Assessment for Learning: An Essential Foundation of Productive Instruction By Rick Stiggins

Article posted January 13, 2010 at 11:20 AM GMT-5 • Reads 37

To what extent do you differentiate among the information needs of various assessment users at different levels of instructional decision-making in your school or district? That is, do your assessment systems really serve the needs of all your assessment users?



Have you assured the quality of your achievement expectations by (a) focusing on clear standards, (b) organizing them in appropriate learning progressions to unfold within and across grade levels over time, and (c) deconstructing each standard into the scaffolding students must climb to attain mastery?

Chapter 2 : Involving Students in the Classroom Assessment Process By Anne Davies

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The author proposes a model for multiplying feedback (figure 2, page 47). Does the feedback in your classroom resemble any of the lines in the figure? If so, which one? How could you move to a system of more productive feedback in your classroom?



How do your students collect, select, reflect, and present evidence of their learning, and how does this differ from your experiences as a student?

Chapter 1 : Using Assessments to Improve Teaching and Learning By Thomas R. Guskey

Article posted January 13, 2010 at 11:21 AM GMT-5 • Reads 34

According to the author, why are large-scale assessments generally not good instruments for helping teachers improve their instruction? How does your school or district use these assessments?



The author advocates giving students second chances to demonstrate success. Do you agree with this strategy? What do some critics have to

say about it? In your opinion, what is the purpose of a grade, and are second chances fair?

Introduction

Article posted January 13, 2010 at 11:21 AM GMT-5 • Reads 115

The author proposes we replace the bell curve with a new vision for achievement, assessment, and equity: the “mountain curve.” How do the bell curve and the mountain curve differ, and what does this mean for students and teachers?