Reclaiming Education in the Age of PISA provides a critical analysis of the OECD's educational agenda and its main tool, namely, PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment). Based on an analysis of the OECD's public documents, including publications, webpages, and videos, d'Agnese argues that PISA is not just an assessment tool, but rather an all-encompassing framework that intends to govern education, schooling, living and society worldwide. This creation of what d'Agnese calls a life-brand raises concerns that education and learning are becoming wares and that, consequently, we run the risk of transforming schools into providers and teachers into agents of preconceived learning packages. In pursuing only one concept of education, and a very narrow one at that, d'Agnese argues that OECD not only narrows down education to a mere reproductive process, but that such an approach also erases the basic rules by which living develops and evolves. In this sense PISA is but another form of authoritarian teaching, authoritarian teaching being understood as any and every educational project which sets aims and purposes of education without giving the possibility to discuss and challenge such aims and purposes. Reclaiming Education in the Age of PISA suggests a different educational logic, emphasizing that schooling is not just a place to produce the correct skills, but is also a matter of experimentation, hesitation and wait, one in which teachers and students attempt to dwell in pure potentiality for growth. Providing a strong argument that a different way to conceive of schooling deserves our attention, this book will be essential reading for academics, researchers and postgraduates in the fields of educational philosophy and theory, inclusive education and social justice. It should also be of interest to policymakers and educational activists.

Despite feedback's demonstratively positive effects on student performance, research on the specific components of successful feedback practice is in short supply. In Using Feedback to Improve Learning, Ruiz-Primo and Brookhart offer critical characteristics of feedback strategies to affirm classroom feedback's positive effect on student learning. The book provides pre- and in-service teachers as well as educational researchers with empirically supported techniques for using feedback as a part of formative assessment in the classroom.

Examining and Facilitating Reflection to Improve Professional Practice is specifically designed and organized to be used throughout a teacher-education program from an introductory foundations course, continuing through content-specific methods classes to graduate-level theory seminars, and, ultimately onto professional development workshops. Harris and her co-authors provide a method for directly instructing students on the practice of reflection and the understanding and identification of the developmental phases of reflection, supported by theory drawn from research. By moving students beyond their commonly held belief that reflection is simply keeping a journal or summarizing the days' activities, Examining and Facilitating Reflection to Improve Professional Practice enables them to use increasingly sophisticated reflection practices that help them grow in their reflective process, ultimately improving their instructional practice. Closely aligned with the reflections standards set by INTASC, NCATE, and NBPST, this book is essential as universities and colleges seek to have reflection as a standard skill set for classroom teachers and educational administrators. Using this text as an easily accessible resource, a discussion and activities guide, and a support for professional development, Education Departments' reflection goals and objectives are met and students enter the classroom confidant in their ability to think in diverse ways, meet the challenges of the classroom, and respond to changing educational environments.

Feedback is often considered to be one of the pivotal enablers of formative assessment. This key topic has received considerable attention within research literature and has been studied by a number of leading experts in the field. This book is positioned at the heart of these debates and offers a specific contribution to 'exploring' and 'exploiting' the learning gap which feedback seeks to shift. Developing Feedback for Pupil Learning seeks to synthesise what we know about feedback and learning into more in-depth understandings of what influences both the structure of and changes to the learning gap. This research-informed but accessibly written enquiry is at the very heart of teaching, learning and assessment. It offers a timely contribution to understanding what works (and what doesn't) for whom and why. Split into three main parts, it covers: Feedback for learning in theory, policy and practice; Conceptualising the 'learning gap'; New futures for feedback. This text will be essential reading for students, teachers, researchers and all those who engage with issues related to teaching, learning and assessment academically.

Learning strategies and academic performance have been extensively investigated but relatively few studies were conducted in East Asia. This volume presents a reflection on the current status of metacognition and academic performance in the East Asian region. It serves to provide a more complete picture of the global study of how students' learning and studying strategies affect their acdemic performance. This book will be of interest to researchers and educators in the area of education, education psychology, cross-cultural studies, education policy, curriculum and instruction and regional studies.

Decision-Oriented Educational Research considers a form of educational research that is designed to be directly relevant to the current information requirements of those who are shaping educational policy or managing edu cational systems. It was written for those who plan to conduct such research, as well as for policy makers and educational administrators who might have such research conducted for them. The book is divided into three main parts. Part I is background. Chapter 1 describes some of the basic themes that are woven throughout subsequent chapters on decision-oriented research. These themes include the impor tance of taking a systems view of educational research; of understanding the nature of decision and policy processes and how these influence system re search; of integrating research activities into the larger system's processes; of the role of management in the research process; of researchers and managers sharing a sense of educational purposes; and of emphasizing system improvement as a basic goal of research process. Chapter 2 is a discussion of the background of the research activities that form the bases of this book. Our collaboration with the Pittsburgh public school system is described, as are the methods and structure we used to build the case histories of our work with the district. Part II, encompassing chapters 3 through 9, addresses basic generaliza tions about decision-oriented educational research that we have derived from our experiences."

Chronicling a high-profile and ambitious teacher preparation reform project that took place across 11 diverse U.S. institutions, this volume examines the strategies, program changes, accomplishments, and challenges from the Teachers for a New Era Project (TNE). TNE aimed to improve the preparation of K-12 teachers and address mounting criticisms of university-based teacher education. Funded primarily by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, TNE targeted the most persistant problems in university-based teacher preparation programs, focused on evidence-based assessment of program impact, and developed strategies for improvement. Exploring both the successes and tensions that arose from the program, this book contributes to future teacher education and program assessment endeavors, and offers lessons that can inform current policies and practices.

There is convincing evidence that carefully applied classroom assessments can promote student learning and academic self-regulation. These assessments include, but are not limited to, conversations with students, diagnostic test items, and co-created rubrics used to guide feedback for students themselves and their peers. Writing with the practical constraints of teaching in mind, Andrade and Heritage present a concise resource to help pre- and in-service teachers maximize the positive impacts of classroom assessment on teaching. Using Formative Assessment to Enhance Learning, Achievement, and Academic Self-Regulation translates work from leading specialists and explains how to use assessment to improve learning by linking learning theory to formative assessment processes. Sections on goal setting, progress monitoring, interpreting feedback, and revision of goal setting make this a timely addition to assessment courses.

The College Instructor's Guide to Writing Test Items: Measuring Student Learning addresses the need for direct and clear guidance on item writing for assessing broad ranges of content in many fields. By focusing on multiple-choice response items, this book provides college instructors the tools to understand, develop, and use assessment activities in classrooms in a way that consistently supports learning. Including dozens of example items and additional resources to support the item development process, this volume is unique in its practical-focus, and is essential reading for instructors and soon-to-be educators, professional development specialists, and higher education researchers. As teaching, assessment, and learning are inherently intertwined, The College Instructor's Guide to Writing Test Items both facilitates the development of instructors' own practice and improves the learning outcomes and success of students.

The College Instructor's Guide to Writing Test Items: Measuring Student Learning addresses the need for direct and clear guidance on item writing for assessing broad ranges of content in many fields. By focusing on multiple-choice response items, this book provides college instructors the tools to understand, develop, and use assessment activities in classrooms in a way that consistently supports learning. Including dozens of example items and additional resources to support the item development process, this volume is unique in its practical-focus, and is essential reading for instructors and soon-to-be educators, professional development specialists, and higher education researchers. As teaching, assessment, and learning are inherently intertwined, The College Instructor's Guide to Writing Test Items both facilitates the development of instructors' own practice and improves the learning outcomes and success of students.

Measurement and Statistics for Teachers deftly combines descriptive statistics and measurement in the classroom into a student-friendly, practical volume. Based on a course taught by the author for the past 25 years, this book offers to undergraduate education students a clear account of the basic issues in measurement and details best practices for administering performance assessments, interpreting test scores, and evaluating student writing. This second edition includes updated pedagogical features, timely discussions of student assessment, state standards (including NCLB), and an expanded focus that incorporates the needs of Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary teachers.

Psychometrics and Psychological Assessment: Principles and Applications reports on contemporary perspectives and models on psychological assessment and their corresponding measures. It highlights topics relevant to clinical and neuropsychological domains, including cognitive abilities, adaptive behavior, temperament, and psychopathology.Moreover, the book examines a series of standard as well as novel methods and instruments, along with their psychometric properties, recent meta-analytic studies, and their cross-cultural applications.

Published with Kappa Delta Pi, Creativity and Education in China takes readers on a journey through research-supported ideas and practical examples of creative and innovative schooling within a changing regime. Analyzing the consequences of exam-centric accountability on the creative and critical capacities of Chinese students, author Carol A. Mullen's dynamic portrait of a country serves as both a cautionary tale and an inspiring example to emulate. Examining creative endeavors and breakthroughs within a competitive, globalized educational landscape, the chapters are organized around environmental and global issues impacting education, expressions of creativity within pre-K-12 schools in China, and creative innovation in higher education learning environments. Presenting captivating cases from the field, the book offers novel approaches to fostering creativity as a natural, integrated part of high-stakes education systems in Eastern and Western cultures alike.

This study examines the implications for evaluation and assessment when more responsibility for the learning process is given to the learner. The text includes sections on peer assessment, self-assessment, styles of evaluation, references, and the roles of teacher and learner.

First Published in 1998. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Parents had questions about the tests their children took at school. They considered them to be common sense questions. They posed them to the businesspeople, publishers, and politicians who championed tests. They also posed them to the school administrators, teachers, and union leaders who criticized them. This book examines the questions the parents posed, the answers they elicited, and the changes they prodded.

This collection of essays focuses on both how and why assessment serves as a key element in the teaching and practice of technical and professional communication. The collection is organized to form a dual approach: on the one hand, it offers a landscape view of the activities involved in assessment - examining how it works at institutional, program, and classroom levels; on the other, it surveys the implications of using assessment for formulating, maintaining, and extending the teaching and practice of technical communication. The book offers teachers, students, scholars, and practitioners alike evidence of the increasingly valuable role of assessment in the field, as it supports and enriches our thinking and practice. No other volume has addressed the demands of and the expectations for assessment in technical communication. Consequently, the book has two key goals. The first is to be as inclusive as is feasible for its size, demonstrating the global operation of assessment in the field. For this reason, descriptions of assessment practice lead to examinations of some key feature of the landscape captured by the term 'technical communication'. The second goal is to retain the public and cooperative approach that has characterized technical communication from the beginning. To achieve this, the book represents a 'conversation', with contributors chosen from among practicing, highly active technical communication teachers and scholars; and the chapters set up pairs of opening statement and following response. The overriding purpose of the volume, therefore, is to invite the whole community into the conversation about assessment in technical communication.

There are dozens of myths surrounding educational reform today, maintaining the school's role in economic competitiveness, the deficiency of teachers, the benefits of increased testing, and the worthiness of privatization. In this volume, the editors argue that this discussion has been co-opted to reflect the values and worldviews of special interest groups such as elites in power, politicians, corporate educational foundations, and the media. Prominent educational writers tackle contemporary issues such as neoliberalism, suburban schooling, charter schools and parental involvement. They expose the "logic behind the talk" and critically examine these problematic beliefs to uncover meaningful improvements in education which are better grounded in the social, economic, political and educational realities of contemporary society.

Whether the concept being studied is job satisfaction, self-efficacy, or student motivation, values and attitudes--affective characteristics--provide crucial keys to how individuals think, learn, and behave. And not surprisingly, as measurement of these traits gains importance in the academic and corporate worlds, there is an ongoing need for valid, scientifically sound instruments. For those involved in creating self-report measures, the completely updated Third Edition of Instrument Development in the Affective Domain balances the art and science of instrument development and evaluation, covering both its conceptual and technical aspects. The book is written to be accessible with the minimum of statistical background, and reviews affective constructs from a measurement standpoint. Examples are drawn from academic and business settings for insights into design as well as the relevance of affective measures to educational and corporate testing. This systematic analysis of all phases of the design process includes: Measurement, scaling, and item-writing techniques. Validity issues: collecting evidence based on instrument content. Testing the internal structure of an instrument: exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Measurement invariance and other advanced methods for examining internal structure. Strengthening the validity argument: relationships to external variables. Addressing reliability issues. As a graduate course between covers and an invaluable professional tool, the Third Edition of Instrument Design in the Affective Domain will be hailed as a bedrock resource by researchers and students in psychology, education, and the social sciences, as well as human resource professionals in the corporate world.

There have been many important changes in the participation of women and men in American society over the past quarter-century. Tests play a role in those changes by providing evidence of the diverse achievement and proficiency of women and men. They aid the learning process and reflect inequalities in opportunity to learn and participate. In addition, they provide useful information in considering what alternatives in education and work make most sense for individuals and influence views about groups of students, educational programs, and a wide range of issues. For all of these reasons, it is important that tests assess fairly and reflect accurately the ways young people are and are not achieving as well as desired. The test performance of women and men is a research topic of historical interest and has received much attention in recent years. Because of this increased interest, there is a great deal of new research and data available. The purpose of the study presented in this volume was to review this new information with two objectives in mind: *to clarify patterns of gender difference and similarity in test performance and related achievements, and *to see what implications those findings might have for fair assessment and, as a corollary, examine the assessment process as a possible source of gender differences. This study is interested in tests used in education to assess developed knowledge and skill. In order to gain a broader view of gender similarity and difference, the contributors looked at other types of measures and other characteristics of young women and men. Their hope is to contribute to a firmer basis for insuring fairness in tests--an objective which is particularly important as the field moves increasingly to new forms of assessment in which there is less experience.

This book looks at the narrowing effects of contemporary modes of teacher and teaching policy and governance. It draws on political theory to provide new ways of conceptualising the effects of teacher and teaching policies and practices. It adds a new dimension to the robust body of literature related to teacher policy by looking at three interrelated domains: (1) teacher preparation and development, (2) teacher evaluation and (3) teacher leadership. Drawing from case studies from the USA, UK and Australia, it illustrates how a coalescence around metrics, standards and compliance is producing increasingly restricted notions of teachers and teaching. It shows how the rationalities and techniques associated with accountability and standardisation are limiting the possibilities for multiple conceptualisations of teaching and teachers to exist or emerge. Using pluralism as the main framework, it challenges the dangers associated with rigid compliance and alignment and argues that pluralism can help secure schools as socially and culturally responsive to the needs of the community.

This volume explores the application of computer simulation technology to measurement issues in education -- especially as it pertains to problem based learning. Whereas most assessments related to problem solving are based on expensive and time consuming measures (i.e., think-aloud protocols or performance assessments that require extensive human rater scoring), this book relies on computerization of the major portion of the administration, scoring, and reporting of problem-solving assessments. It is appropriate for researchers, instructors and graduate students in educational assessment, educational technology, and educational psychology.

The rising reliance on testing in American education and for licensure and certification has been accompanied by an escalation in cheating on tests at all levels. Edited by two of the foremost experts on the subject, the Handbook of Quantitative Methods for Detecting Cheating on Tests offers a comprehensive compendium of increasingly sophisticated data forensics used to investigate whether or not cheating has occurred. Written for practitioners, testing professionals, and scholars in testing, measurement, and assessment, this volume builds on the claim that statistical evidence often requires less of an inferential leap to conclude that cheating has taken place than do other, more common sources of evidence. This handbook is organized into sections that roughly correspond to the kinds of threats to fair testing represented by different forms of cheating. In Section I, the editors outline the fundamentals and significance of cheating, and they introduce the common datasets to which chapter authors' cheating detection methods were applied. Contributors describe, in Section II, methods for identifying cheating in terms of improbable similarity in test responses, preknowledge and compromised test content, and test tampering. Chapters in Section III concentrate on policy and practical implications of using quantitative detection methods. Synthesis across methodological chapters as well as an overall summary, conclusions, and next steps for the field are the key aspects of the final section.

There has been an increase in awareness (and perhaps occurrence) of individual and organized cheating on tests. Recent reports of widespread problems with state student accountability tests and teacher certification testing have raised questions about the very validity of assessment programs. While there are several books that specifically detail the issues of test security cheating on assessments, few outline the statistical procedures used for detecting various types of potential test fraud and the associated research findings. Without a significant research literature base, the new generation of researchers will have little opportunity or incentive to improve on existing methods. Enlisting a variety of experts and scholars in different fields of testing, this edited volume expands on the current literature base by including examples of detailed research findings arrived at by statistical methodology. It also provides a synthesis of the current state of the art with regard to the statistical detection of testing infidelity, particularly for large-scale assessments. By presenting methods currently used by testing organizations and research on new methods, the volume offers an important forum for expanding the literature in this area.

Self-assessment is increasingly used in higher education as a strategy for both student learning and assessment. This book examines the full range of concerns about self-assessment, placing it in the wider context of innovative teaching and learning practices.