No matter how many times you weigh a pig, all you learn is how much it weighs. If you want to learn something else, you need a different assessment. This sensible book demonstrates the power of classroom assessments to improve both teaching and learning. In clear, straightforward language, the authors explain how well-constructed assessments provide data that is essential to the development of learning opportunities for all students, regardless of their backgrounds. This is an insightful overview of a subject that has, until now, generated far more heat than light.

With contributions from teachers and teacher educators, this pragmatic book features:

• A highly readable overview of a subject that is often over-complicated.
• Concise chapters, illustrated with vignettes from real life in the classroom.
• Directions for integrating assessment results, curriculum expectations, and individual student’s learning needs.
• Alternative approaches that have been proven to be useful in assessing the needs of a wide range of students.
• Examples of successful collaborations among school staff, based on assessment results, in creating cultures that support teachers and learners.

Contributors: Rosemarie L. Ataya • Judy F. Carr • Janice S. Eitelgeorge • Janice Fauske • Stephen Graves • Phyllis Jones • Karen Kent • Elizabeth Larkin • Sharon Miller Keller • Weimin Mo • Stephen Rushton • Susan Sheffield • Anne Marie Juola-Rushton •
G. Pat Wilson

Phyllis Jones is Assistant Professor at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee, Rosemarie L. Ataya is Assistant Professor at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee, and Judy F. Carr is Co-Director of the Center for Curriculum Renewal and teaches part time at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee.