Mark R. O'Shea Bücher

Schools have undergone enormous change in the last ten years in response to the standards movement. New teachers will face the challenge of meeting state curriculum standards and new forms of assessment that derive in part from the No Child Left Behind policy. As part of the “Pathways to Teaching Series”, Assessment Throughout the Year offers a brief , practical, and accessible text for teachers who need help mastering the skills of standards-based assessment and collaborative planning for this new teaching environment. This book on classroom-based assessment can help teachers, especially those new to the classroom, to plan their instruction at the beginning of the school year based on the standards assessment data, find alternative forms of cumulative assessment to evaluate student achievement as described in the state or district standards, and to design teaching practices to meet the curriculum pacing and benchmark assessments of the school year. Learning objectives, chapter introductions, graphic organizers, and essential vocabulary at the beginning of each chapter prepare the reader for the content to follow. This text is intended to help teachers prepare for the assessment experiences they will encounter throughout the school year. In this climate of school reform, it can also reinforce conventional instruction in the principles of testing and measurement and provide new approaches to assessment practices.

In this era of accountability and high-stakes testing, school leaders must find more sophisticated ways to help all students succeed. But how can districts make adequate yearly progress without a coherent system for addressing state standards? In From Standards to Success , education professor Mark R. O'Shea introduces the Standards Achievement Planning Cycle (SAPC), a comprehensive protocol for meeting the standards. To illustrate his multi-layered approach, O'Shea takes readers to a fictional school as it prepares to install the SAPC. We meet the superintendent, who organizes the district for curriculum reform; the principal, who supervises standards-based instruction; and the teachers, who collaboratively plan lessons and evaluate their students' work. From teacher observation to student assessment, O'Shea offers innovative strategies to help school leaders* identify and analyze which standards are most important* select appropriate curriculum materials and resources* provide instructional planning time for teachers* create a benchmark-testing program* design effective professional developmentChecklists at the end of each chapter highlight best practices, and sample lessons show how to plan curriculum that enables students to meet state standards. The result is a thorough and sensible guide to realizing the promise of standards-based education.