Approaches to Assessment that Enhance Learning in Higher Education
Approaches to Assessment that Enhance Learning in Higher Education

Author: Stylianos Hatzipanagos

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-10-10

Total Pages: 213

ISBN-13: 1317978404

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This book addresses the need to diversify mainstream forms of assessment currently used in Higher Education in order to re-establish the focus on the learning process. Making assessment central to student learning is about returning to what current research emphasises: the primary beneficiary of assessment should be the student. To achieve this in the assessment context, students and tutors must engage in a process of dialogue and feedback. It seems to be widely accepted that assessment succeeds when the learner monitors, identifies and then is able to ‘bridge’ the gap between current learning achievements and agreed goals. It is, however, more questionable whether adequate opportunities are given to students to be active participants in closing what has been termed ‘the loop’. Contributors to this book have responded in different ways to the challenge of enhancing learning through assessment, offering reasons for the lack of focus on learning within assessment processes as well as suggesting possible solutions. The chapters demonstrate a balance between innovation and practicality, drawing on the underpinning theories. The result is both rich in discussion and an extremely useful resource for practitioners. This book was originally published as a special issue of Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education.

SAGE Handbook of Research on Classroom Assessment
SAGE Handbook of Research on Classroom Assessment

Author: James H. McMillan

Publisher: SAGE

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 577

ISBN-13: 1412995876

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The Sage Handbook of Research on Classroom Assessment provides scholars, professors, graduate students, and other researchers and policy makers in the organizations, agencies, testing companies, and school districts with a comprehensive source of research on all aspects of K-12 classroom assessment. The handbook emphasizes theory, conceptual frameworks, and all varieties of research (quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods) to provide an in-depth understanding of the knowledge base in each area of classroom assessment and how to conduct inquiry in the area. It presents classroom assessment research to convey, in depth, the state of knowledge and understanding that is represented by the research, with particular emphasis on how classroom assessment practices affect student achieventment and teacher behavior. Editor James H. McMillan and five Associate Editors bring the best thinking and analysis from leading classroom assessment researchers on the nature of the research, making significant contributions to this prominent and hotly debated topic in education.

Evaluation of regulatory impact assessments 2006-07
Evaluation of regulatory impact assessments 2006-07

Author: Great Britain: National Audit Office

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2007-07-11

Total Pages: 40

ISBN-13: 0102947201

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This NAO report evaluates the quality of Regulatory Impact Assessments (RIAs) produced by the Department of Health and the Department for Communities and Local Government, and considers how these departments are seeking to raise standards and improve their use. The aim of RIAs is to assess the need for, and impact of, proposed regulations and amendments to existing regulations. They are a tool to help policy makers understand the consequences of possible Government regulation. RIAs are required for all forms of government intervention that impose, or reduce, costs on businesses, the third sector or the public sector. The NAO concludes that RIAs were not always being used effectively. That they often did not form an integral part of the policy making process, from initial development through to implementation and review. The quality of RIAs as used by both departments was mixed, with assessment of costs and benefits the weakest area and insufficient consideration of the impact of regulations following implementation. Further, RIAs were often not commissioned or used early enough in policy formation. Also, RIAs were only occasionally used by Parliamentary Committees and to inform Parliamentary debate. Among the recommendations, set out by the NAO, include: that RIAs should consider more explicitly the impacts of legislation when it comes into force; that Departments should ensure their guidance, training and procedures emphasise the need for high quality analysis; that Departmental RIAs need to ensure there are clear statements on how and when post-implementation reviews will be conducted and that Departments need to develop a targeted package of training and support which integrates RIAs into mainstream policy development.

Assessment and Learning
Assessment and Learning

Author: John Gardner

Publisher: SAGE

Published: 2011-12-07

Total Pages: 314

ISBN-13: 1446290247

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Assessment and Learning places learning at the centre of our concerns and explicitly underscores the importance of assessment in that learning. This new edition provides a comprehensive overview of assessment that is used to support learning, practice-based theory on assessment for learning, and formative assessment to support individual development and motivate learners. With a strong list of existing and new contributors, this second edition has been updated to include the latest work on assessment. Readers will find research-informed insights from a wide variety of international contexts. It features: - New chapters on e-assessment, the learner′s perspective on assessment and learning and the influence of assessment on how we value learning - Teacher-friendly assessment topics - Practical examples and chapter summaries throughout This book is useful to teacher educators and researchers on postgraduate courses in education, teaching, learning and assessment. John Gardner is a professor of education at Queens University Belfast, and President of the British Educational Research Association.

Handbook of Formative Assessment
Handbook of Formative Assessment

Author: Heidi Andrade

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2010-04-02

Total Pages: 501

ISBN-13: 1135283931

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Formative assessment has recently become a focus of renewed research as state and federal policy-makers realize that summative assessments have reached a point of diminishing returns as a tool for increasing student achievement. Consequently, supporters of large-scale testing programs are now beginning to consider the potential of formative assessments to improve student achievement. The mission of this handbook is to comprehensively profile this burgeoning field of study. Written by leading international scholars and practitioners, each chapter includes a discussion of key issues that dominate formative assessment policy and practice today, as well as those that are likely to affect research and practice in the coming years. Key features include: Comprehensive – nineteen chapters cover all aspects of formative assessment including classroom assessment, large-scale applications, technological applications, applications for special needs students, K-12 and post-secondary applications, psychometric considerations, case studies, and discussion of alternative assessment formats such as portfolios and performance assessments. Integrative – thoughtful attention is given to the integration of large-scale and classroom assessments. Practical – provides practical guidance on how to conduct formative assessments that generate credible information to guide instruction. Global – provides perspectives from leading international scholars and practitioners whose expertise spans diverse settings, student populations, and educational systems. Accessible Style – although grounded in the latest research, the book’s style and tone has been carefully crafted to make it accessible to both the textbook and professional markets. It will also be a critical reference book for researchers in teacher preparation, educational administration, and educational policy studies.

Fish Population Dynamics, Monitoring, and Management
Fish Population Dynamics, Monitoring, and Management

Author: Ichiro Aoki

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-05-22

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 443156621X

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This book explores how we can solve the urgent problem of optimizing the use of variable, uncertain but finite fisheries resources while maintaining sustainability from a marine-ecosystem conservation perspective. It offers readers a broad understanding of the current methods and theory for sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources, and introduces recent findings and technological developments. The book is divided into three parts: Part I discusses fish stock dynamics, and illustrates how ecological processes affecting life cycles and biological interactions in marine environments lead to fish stock variability in space and time in major fish groups; small pelagic fish, demersal fish and large predatory fish. These insights shed light on the mechanisms underlying the variability in fish stocks and form the essential biological basis for fisheries management. Part II addresses the technologies and systems that monitor changes in fisheries resources and marine ecosystems using two approaches: fishery-dependent and fishery-independent data. It also describes acoustic surveys and biological sampling, as well as stock assessment methods. Part III examines management models for effectively assessing the natural variability in fisheries resources. The authors explore ways of determining the allowable catch in response to changes in stock abundance and how to incorporate ecological processes and monitoring procedures into management models. This book offers readers a broad understanding of sustainable exploitation as well as insights into fisheries management for the next generation.

Multifaceted Assessment for Early Childhood Education
Multifaceted Assessment for Early Childhood Education

Author: Robert J. Wright

Publisher: SAGE

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 361

ISBN-13: 1412970156

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Multifaceted Assessment in Early Childhood is ideal for those on upper-division undergraduate courses and first-level graduate courses in early childhood education assessment. The book covers the various measures used in a range of assessment dimensions, and includes valuable information regarding young children with special needs and English Language Learners, which has rarely been touched upon in other textbooks. The chapters are focused on student accessibility and include practical applications of key concepts. Features and benefits: Covers a range of assessment concepts, including - Formative (uses feedback from learning to adapt teaching) -Summative (i.e. tests, quizzes) -Authentic (focuses on complex/deeper tasks) -Standardized (STAR, SAT) Includes coverage of assessment for English language learners and children with special needs -- topics that are not provided enough coverage in other books (including Wortham, McAfee, Puckett and Mindes). Wright's writing style grabs and engages the reader in the topic. Two of our reviewers who use Wortham specifically cited Wright's writing style as a reason they would adopt our book. A McAfee reviewer is likely to switch for the same reason.

Next Generation Assessment
Next Generation Assessment

Author: Linda Darling-Hammond

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2014-07-16

Total Pages: 146

ISBN-13: 111892813X

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A forward-thinking look at performance assessment in the 21st century Next Generation Assessment: Moving Beyond the Bubble Test to Support 21st Century Learning provides needed answers to the nation's growing concerns about educational testing in America. Drawing on research and the experiences of leading states and countries, this new book examines how performance assessments can offer a feasible alternative to current high stakes tests. As parents, educators, and policymakers have increasingly criticized the effects of the teaching to the test mandate from the No Child Left Behind Act, the need for this resource has never been more critical. This summary volume to Beyond the Bubble Test speaks to the nationwide unease about current tests' focus on low-level skills, like recalling and restating facts, rather than higher-order skills such as problem-solving, analyzing, and synthesizing information. It illustrates how schools can use authentic assessments to improve teaching and learning as they involve students in conducting research, designing investigations, developing products and solutions, using technology, and communicating their ideas in many forms. This important book: Serves as a must-have resource for those interested in the most current research about how to create valid and reliable performance assessments Explains how educators can improve practice by developing, using, and scoring performance assessments Helps policymakers and educators accurately assess the benefits and possibilities of adopting performance assessments nationally If you're an educator, researcher, graduate student, district administrator, or education policy specialist, Next Generation Assessment is an indispensable resource you'll turn to again and again.

The Cambridge Primary Review Research Surveys
The Cambridge Primary Review Research Surveys

Author: Robin Alexander

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2012-08-06

Total Pages: 881

ISBN-13: 1136328718

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The Cambridge Primary Review Research Surveys is the outcome of the Cambridge Primary Review – England’s biggest enquiry into primary education for over forty years. Fully independent of government, it was launched in 2006 to investigate the condition and future of primary education at a time of change and uncertainty and after two decades of almost uninterrupted reform. Ranging over ten broad themes and drawing on a vast array of evidence, the Review published thiry-one interim reports, including twenty-eight surveys of published research, provoking media headlines and public debate, before presenting its final report and recommendations. This book brings together the twenty-eight research surveys, specially commissioned from sixty-five leading academics in the areas under scrutiny and now revised and updated, to create what is probably the most comprehensive overview and evaluation of research in primary education yet published. A particular feature is the prominence given to international and comparative perspectives. With an introduction from Robin Alexander, the Review’s director, the book is divided into eight sections, covering: children’s lives and voices: school, home and community children’s development, learning, diversity and needs aims, values and contexts for primary education the structure and content of primary education outcomes, standards and assessment in primary education teaching in primary schools: structures and processes teaching in primary schools: training, development and workforce reform policy frameworks: governance, funding, reform and quality assurance. The Cambridge Primary Review Research Surveys is an essential reference tool for professionals, researchers, students and policy-makers working in the fields of early years, primary and secondary education.