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How to Assess Authentic Learning
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How to Assess Authentic Learning

Fifth Edition


October 2009 | 232 pages | Corwin

"Burke has challenged teachers everywhere to raise their standards and design classroom assessments that show evidence of understanding and performance on complex tasks. The expert examples in this book provide teachers with a complete road map so that assessment is truly at the heart of instruction."
—Diane Ray, Assistant Director for Teacher Leader Development
Professional Association of Georgia Educators

Create assessments that meet state standards and target students' learning needs!

For many years, assessment was relegated to a secondary role in the educational process. But with the increased emphasis on high-stakes testing, effective assessment has emerged as one of the major factors in raising student achievement.

In this latest edition of her bestseller, renowned educator Kay Burke provides a wide range of updated, easy-to-implement alternative assessments that address today's accountability requirements and focus on improving learning. Designed for use across all content areas, these formative assessments are rooted in the language of state standards and emphasize differentiating instruction to meet students' individual learning needs. Revised throughout with updated research, this new edition helps K–12 teachers:

  • Build Response to Intervention checklists for struggling students
  • Develop unit plans using differentiated learning and assessment strategies
  • Create portfolios that emphasize metacognition
  • Design performance tasks that motivate and engage students
  • Construct rubrics that describe indicators of quality work
  • Create tests that focus on higher-order thinking skills

Offering numerous applications and examples, How to Assess Authentic Learning guides teachers in developing the assessment tools needed to help all students meet or exceed mandated academic standards.

Register for Kay Burke's CE course on Effective Assessment here.


 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Author
 
Introduction
Standardized Tests and Classroom Assessments

 
Assessment Literacy

 
Accountability

 
Grading

 
Traditional Cognitive Science

 
Assessment and Evaluation

 
Definitions of Performance Assessment

 
Portfolios

 
Balanced Assessment

 
And Now...the Tools!

 
 
1. Student Learning Standards
What Are Learning Standards and Benchmarks?

 
What Is the Standards Movement?

 
How Did the Standards Movement Begin?

 
What Are Preformance Standards?

 
Why Do We Need Standards?

 
How Can We Use Standards?

 
Final Thoughts

 
 
2. Differentiated Learning
What Is Differentiated Learning?

 
What Are the Multiple Intelligences?

 
Why Should We Use Differentiation?

 
How Should We Use the Multiple intelligences?

 
Final Thoughts

 
 
3. Student Portfolios
What is a Portfolio?

 
Why Should We Use Portfolios?

 
How Can We Implement Portfolios?

 
Final Thoughts

 
 
4. Performance Tasks and Rubrics
What Are Performance Tasks?

 
Why Should We Use Performance Tasks?

 
How Should We Create Performance Tasks?

 
How Should We Assess Performance Tasks?

 
Final Thoughts

 
 
5. Checklists and Rubrics
What Are Checklists?

 
Why Should We Use Checklists?

 
How Should We Use Checklists?

 
What Are Rubrics?

 
How Should We Use Rubrics?

 
How Can Rubrics Be Used?

 
What is the Checklist-Rubrics Connection?

 
How Do We Create Assessments?

 
Final Thoughts

 
 
6. Metacognition
What Is Metacognitive Reflection?

 
Why Should We Use Megacognitive Reflection?

 
How Should We Use Megacognitive Reflection?

 
What Are Learning Logs and Journals?

 
Why Should We Use Learning Logs and Journals?

 
How Should We Use Learning Logs and Journals?

 
How Should We Assess Learning Logs and Journals??

 
Finals Thoughts

 
 
7. Graphic Organizers
What Are Graphic Organizers?

 
Why Should We Use Graphic Organizers?

 
How Should Graphic Organizers Be Used For Assessment?

 
Final Thoughts

 
 
8. Teacher-Made Tests
What Are Teacher-Made Tests?

 
Why Do We Need Teacher-Made Tests?

 
How Can We Design Better Teacher-Made Tests?

 
Final Thoughts

 
 
9. Interviews and Conferences
What Are Interviews and Conferences?

 
Why Should We Use Interviews and Conferences?

 
How Should We Assess Interviews and Conferences?

 
Final Thoughts

 
 
Conclusion
 
Resources: Performance Task Units
Resource A: Investigating Rocks, Minerals, and Soils in Third-Grade Science

 
Resource B: A Middle School Economics Performance Task

 
Resource C: Using Algebra to Plan a Garden Party

 
Resource D: Foreign Language Performance Task for Middle and High School

 
Resource E: Thinking About Themes Through texts and Tasks in Literature, Grades 9-12

 
 
References
 
Index

"Burke has challenged teachers everywhere to raise their standards and design classroom assessments that show evidence of understanding and performance on complex tasks. The expert examples in this book provide teachers a complete road map so that assessment is truly at the heart of instruction."

Diane Ray, Assistant Director for Teacher Leader Development
Professional Association of Georgia Educators

"An important text. Classroom teachers will find the descriptions and examples very doable and extremely helpful."

Debbie Metcalf, Teacher-in-Residence, East Carolina University
Interventionist, Pitt County Schools, Greenville, NC

"This book will certainly appeal to educators across the nation. The abundance of research and examples will certainly benefit and motivate teachers and administrators."

Lori Grossman, Manager of Mentoring, Professional Development Services
Houston Independent School District, TX

"This is the type of text that teachers will keep so that they can reference it in the future."

Kimberly Bright, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Special Education
Shippensburg University

"There is a great deal of practical, useful information that teachers will find valuable."

Steve Reifman, Teacher, Roosevelt School, Santa Monica, CA
Author, Eight Essentials for Empowered Teaching and Learning, K-8

"A powerful tool with classroom-ready examples that demonstrate sound and valuable assessment practices. It’s a phenomenal resource."

Eileen Depka, Assistant Superintendent
School District of Elmbrook, Brookfield, WI

“Wow! Burke has written a book for schools that really gets to the point! It is easy to use and rich in resources such as checklists, rubrics, and sample unit designs to help every principal be an effective learning leader and allow teachers to utilize an approach rich in best practices for balanced assessment.”

Lee Adams, Principal
Parklane Elementary School, Atlanta, GA

great resource for per-service teachers

Dr Gayle Mindes
School Of Education, Depaul University - Lincoln Park
April 22, 2013

It presents clear information about authentic assessment instruments. This is a core content of the assessment courses provided to education students at our university. This book has been adopted as recommended textbooks for course EDUC 355.

Professor Fidel Tavara
Assessment and Education, Ana G. Mendez University System
August 29, 2012

Text doesn't contain enough research into best practices in order to help teachers realize what they need to do to improve student achievement. Provides only an overview of several topics without enough depth into any of them.

Ms Beverly Stofferahn
Education, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
January 5, 2011

The author revised and reorganized the fifth edition on a structural level, combining, splitting, and eliminating several chapters from the previous edition. As a result, the book was streamlined into 9 chapters that are often longer and more in-depth. Topics such as creating tests and assessing tests, for example, have been split into their own respective chapters.

These new sections and subsections included additional material as well as new examples and references to add to previous discussion of certain topics. For instance, the author added many new practical examples of performance tasks that can be used in the classroom. She also expanded on learning logs and journals—describing their similarities and differences and explaining how to effectively use them with students—as well as on assessment tools such as rubrics, further splitting them into groups such as generalized, analytical, and weighted.

At the end of each chapter the author added a "Final Thoughts" section to concisely sum up and tie together the main concepts introduced in the chapter. Additionally she has added several "Resources" to the back of the book to be considered for classroom activities performance tasks.

For instructors

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