A Measure of Success: From Assignment to Assessment in English Language Arts

Teachers are at the heart of any meaningful reform in education, and it is to these teachers that A Measure of Success is addressed - not with the prospect of providing easy answers to questions about classroom assessment, but with the hope of raising common concerns and exploring possibilities.

Taking the position that assessment is useful only as it is aligned with curriculum, Fran Claggett considers how to frame assignments and how to assess them. Underlying her approach is the need to teach students how to value and assess their own achievement and growth. The use of classroom portfolios to achieve this end is carefully documented.

Throughout the book, Claggett integrates current reading and writing theories that support her approach. The theoretical basis is not assumed; it is clearly set forth in the text. There are chapters on structuring reading; writing; and integrated projects involving graphics, oral presentations, and other creative forms. Strategies for assessment are incorporated into strategies for teaching. The book includes a number of specific materials that can be duplicated for classroom use: self-assessment charts; rubrics for assessing reading, writing, and team projects; open-ended questions about literature that are compatible with a constructivist theory of reading; and prompts combining reading, writing, and teamwork. The impact of large-scale assessment on classroom teaching and methods for achieving departmental change in teaching and assessing are also addressed.

Any teacher, student, administrator, teacher-educator, or policymaker hoping to better understand classroom assessment and how it affects and reflects student learning will find this book a valuable resource.