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How do you judge the quality of a school, a district, a teacher, a student? By the test scores, of course. Yet for all the talk, what educational tests can and can’t tell you, and how scores can be misunderstood and misused, remains a mystery to most. The complexities of testing are routinely ignored, either because they are unrecognized, or because they may be—well, complicated. Inspired by a popular Harvard course for students without an extensive mathematics background, Measuring Up demystifies educational testing—from MCAS to SAT to WAIS, with all the alphabet soup in between. Bringing statistical terms down to earth, Daniel Koretz takes readers through the most fundamental issues that arise in educational testing and shows how they apply to some of the most controversial issues in education today, from high-stakes testing to special education. He walks readers through everyday examples to show what tests do well, what their limits are, how easily tests and scores can be oversold or misunderstood, and how they can be used sensibly to help discover how much kids have learned.

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Classroom Assessment FOR Student Learning: Doing It Right–Using It Well is a combination textbook and workbook grounded in research shown to increase student motivation and learning through improved classroom assessment. This user-friendly, practical book is full of real-world examples of what assessment for learning looks like in today’s classrooms.   Presented in a format appropriate for use by individuals or collaborative learning teams, the book has an exceptionally strong focus on integrating assessment with instruction through student involvement in the assessment process. Classroom Assessment FOR Student Learning comes packaged with an Activities and Resources CD and a Video Segments: Demonstrations & Presentations DVD.

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In So What Do They Really Know? Cris Tovani explores the complex issue of monitoring, assessing, and grading students' thinking and performance with fairness and fidelity. Like all teachers, Cris struggles to balance her student-centered instruction with school system mandates. Her recommendations are realistic and practical; she understands that what isn't manageable isn't sustainable. Cris describes the systems and structure she uses in her own classroom and shows teachers how to use assessments to monitor student growth and provide targeted feedback that enables students to master content goals. She also shares ways to bring students into the assessment cycle so they can monitor their own learning, maximizing motivation and engagement. Teachers will recognize their own students and the challenges they face as they join Cris on the journey to figure out how to raise student achievement.