Stiggins, R. 2006. Assessment for learning: A key to motivation and achievement. Edge, 2(2), 3 - 19.

Stiggins, Rick, & Chappuis, Jan. (2006). What a difference a word makes: Assessment FOR learning rather than assessment OF learning helps students succeed. Journal of Staff Development, 27(1), 10-14.

Stiggins, Rick. (2005). From Formative Assessment to Assessment FOR Learning: A Path to Success in Standards-Based Schools. Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. 87, No. 04, December 2005, pp. 324-328.

Chappuis, Jan. (2005). Helping students understand assessment. Educational Leadership, 63(3), 39-43.

Chappuis, Stephen. (2005). Is formative assessment losing its meaning. Education Week, 24(44), 38.

Ever since Scriven (1967) and Bloom, Hastings, and Madaus (1971 articulated the distinction between summative and formative evaluation, summative assessment has referred to tests administered after learning is supposed to have occurred to determine whether it did. Formative assessment, on the other hand, has been used to describe assessments conducted during learning—those that inform teachers’ instructional decisions along the way to student success. Read the complete article here.

In this article, the author examines the important issue that assessment, evaluating and grading practices of our youth--that is, those specifically designed to permit only a few to succeed -- now must be revised to permit all students to succeed, at least at some level.

The authors argue that the failure of 60 years of total reliance on assessment via standardized tests to help reduce achievement score gaps must compel us to rethink the role of assessment in this endeavor. They advocate rebalancing assessment priorities to bring classroom assessment into the equation.

 

Arter, Judith A. (2004). Assessment for learning: Classroom assessment to improve student achievement and well-being. In Measuring Up: Assessment Issues for Teachers, Counselors, and Administrators, edited by Janet E. Wall & Gary R. Walz. Greensboro, NC: CAPS Press.

Cyclical attention notwithstanding, the positive influence that effective school leaders can have on learning continues to be supported in research. As a result, it is natural that scholars and practitioners alike would try to translate research into practice by describing what effective leadership looks like and sounds like.

 

We have inherited an assessment legacy that has actually prevented us from tapping the full power of assessment for school improvement, Mr. Stiggins maintains. He offers a new vision of assessment that has the potential of bringing about remarkable gains in student achievement.

 

Adapted from a paper presented at the American Educational Research Association annual meeting in New Orleans in 2000. This paper presents ideas developed at greater length in the book Scoring Rubrics in the Classroom: Using Performance Criteria for Assessment and Improving Student Performance by Judy Arter and Jay McTighe, © 2001 Corwin Press.

 

Classroom assessment that involves students in the process and focuses on increasing learning can motivate rather than merely measure students.

 

This article reviews four key research summaries to assess the current state of classroom assessment, four important developments that impact the future, and proposes a five-part action plan to tap the potential of classroom assessment as a powerful school improvement tool.

 

An introduction to a special NASSP Bulletin on standards and assessment practices.

 

Many principals and teachers have not been given the opportunity to develop the assessment literacy needed to fulfill their assessment responsibilities in standards-driven schools. The principal's role in dealing with this critical issue is described.

 

Up-to-date review on the rationale and logistics of professional development in assessment using collaborative learning teams.

 

In this article, Rick questions the notion that intimidation by assessment will lead to more effective schools, and he offers an alternative vision in which we use assessment to build student confidence in the service of school improvement.

 

This chapter considers key assumptions about the nature of classroom assessment and describes critical concerns about assessment practice. It also outlines central questions for use in reviewing a district's current classroom assessment quality.

 

This article considers what training for teachers should look like. It examines how well our assessment practices align with what we expect from our students and concludes with an exploration of ways to evaluate assessment training in your institution.

 

This paper describes why learning teams are the best professional development method for improving assessment skills. It includes an outline of specific steps to setting up and conducting learning teams with the Institute's materials.