This book has been designed to provide guidance for special and mainstream schools in the assessment of pupils' learning from Level P1 up to and including National Curriculum Level 1A. It contains exemplification of the descriptions of attainment for reading, writing and the three strands of mathematics identified in Planning, Teaching and Assessing the Curriculum for Pupils with Learning Difficulties produced by the QCA. The book provides clarification of the performance criteria, through illustrative examples, and supports accurate and consistent teacher assessment of pupils working at these levels. It enables effective monitoring of attainment and progression, which will support the target setting process, and demonstrates how assessments can be used to inform next steps in learning. The authors include examples from special and mainstream schools on reading, writing and mathematics. The book also contains photocopiable proformas for your own use. SENCOs and teachers in special and mainstream schools should find this book helps them to chart the progress of their pupils' learning very effectively.

This is the first book devoted to the P scales; there has been no published research on the P scales. There is no documentation of the benefits that schools have derived from using the P scales, and no account has been given of how easy or otherwise teachers have found it to use the P scales in the assessment of their pupils. The book introduces the P scales and their application to teachers, describes the various subject areas of the scales and how to apply them in the assessment of pupils attainment levels. The book also describes how schools can use the assessment data collected in self-evaluation and setting of improvement targets for their pupils. It also discusses the P scales in terms of the validity and reliability of data collected and investigates the extent to which the scales measure what they were designed to measure. Head teachers have recounted their experiences of using the P scales, outlining the difficulties they have had in their schools using the scales and the benefits the schools have derived.

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.

The untold story of the root cause of America's education crisis--and the seemingly endless cycle of multigenerational poverty. It was only after years within the education reform movement that Natalie Wexler stumbled across a hidden explanation for our country's frustrating lack of progress when it comes to providing every child with a quality education. The problem wasn't one of the usual scapegoats: lazy teachers, shoddy facilities, lack of accountability. It was something no one was talking about: the elementary school curriculum's intense focus on decontextualized reading comprehension "skills" at the expense of actual knowledge. In the tradition of Dale Russakoff's The Prize and Dana Goldstein's The Teacher Wars, Wexler brings together history, research, and compelling characters to pull back the curtain on this fundamental flaw in our education system--one that fellow reformers, journalists, and policymakers have long overlooked, and of which the general public, including many parents, remains unaware. But The Knowledge Gap isn't just a story of what schools have gotten so wrong--it also follows innovative educators who are in the process of shedding their deeply ingrained habits, and describes the rewards that have come along: students who are not only excited to learn but are also acquiring the knowledge and vocabulary that will enable them to succeed. If we truly want to fix our education system and unlock the potential of our neediest children, we have no choice but to pay attention.

How can we help teachers use classroom assessments to gather appropriate evidence for all valued learning goals, and to use those assessments not just to measure learning but to promote it? This book provides an answer in a practical, proven, and principled Assessment Planning Framework that moves away from solely multiple-choice tests toward a wide range of approaches to classroom assessment activities, including performance-based assessments. The Framework examines four different types of learning goals, considers various purposes and audiences for assessment information, reviews five categories of classroom assessment methods, and presents options for communicating actionable results. To the authors, the primary purpose of classroom assessment is to inform teaching and learning, rather than simply to assign grades. This concise resource will be a reliable go-to reference for teachers, school leaders, mentors, and coaches in guiding classroom assessment practices and understanding their underlying principles. Book Features: Builds on the classic book Understanding by Design, written by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe.Offers a practical, nontechnical presentation appropriate for teacher preparation and busy practitioners (K–16).Explores different purposes for, and methods of, classroom assessment and grading.Addresses assessment of academic standards as well as transdisciplinary outcomes, such as 21st-century skills.Describes the principles and practices underlying standards-based grading.

"Use PBAs to design learning experiences that increase student engagement and achievement! "This book explains performance-based assessments (PBAs) in easy-to-understand terms and describes how to construct PBAs that measure learner performance effectively while allowing educators to align curriculum and instruction with students' needs. Using PBAs, teachers can engage students in the learning process, connect the learning to students' individual lives, and monitor learning outcomes. The author provides: Detailed and clear examples of performance-based assessmentsTools for assessment and guidelines for creating and using rubricsChecklists, frequently asked questions, graphic organizers, and activities to reinforce the content in each chapter

If you are looking for the definitive resource to help you measure your students’ achievement, your search is over. PE Metrics: Assessing Student Performance Using the National Standards & Grade-Level Outcomes for K-12 Physical Education, Third Edition, aligns with SHAPE America’s National Standards and Grade-Level Outcomes for K-12 Physical Education, was created by SHAPE America and its writing team, and was reviewed by researchers and teachers with expertise in assessment. The result is a text that you can use with confidence as you help develop physical literacy in your students. Written for physical educators, administrators, and curriculum writers (and for physical education majors and minors), this latest edition offers the following: • 130 ready-to-use assessments for kindergarten through grade 12 (65 elementary, 43 middle school, and 22 high school) • Worksheets, checklists, and rubrics that support the assessments • Guidance on creating your own assessments for any lesson or unit These assessments are aligned with the three SHAPE America lesson planning books for elementary, middle, and secondary school and dovetail with SHAPE America’s The Essentials of Teaching Physical Education. The assessments can be used as they are, or you can modify them or use them as samples in creating assessments that are best suited to your needs. PE Metrics, now in a four-color design, is organized into four main parts: Part I introduces the purpose and uses of assessment, how to develop an assessment plan, and the various types of assessments and tools you can use. Part II contains sample assessments for students in grades K-5, focusing on fundamental motor skills; as such, the elementary-level assessments center heavily on Standard 1. In part III, the emphasis shifts to middle school assessments, with a concentration on Standard 2 and on the categories of dance and rhythms, invasion games, net/wall games, fielding/striking games, outdoor pursuits, aquatics, and individual-performance activities. Part IV offers sample assessments for high school students, with a priority on providing evidence of the knowledge and skills students will need to remain active and fit after they leave high school. This resource provides a comprehensive, performance-based assessment system that enables you to incorporate assessment into every facet of your teaching, create assessments that are unique to your program, and measure your students’ performance against the grade-level outcomes. The assessments are process focused and are designed to measure multiple constructs as well as provide meaningful feedback to students—ultimately helping them to develop holistically across all three learning domains (psychomotor, cognitive, and affective). PE Metrics will help you instill in students the knowledge, skills, and confidence they need to enjoy a lifetime of healthful physical activity.