The Ecology of Student Assessment

Leading Student Assessment STUDIES IN EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP VOLUME 15 Series Editor Kenneth A. Leithwood, OISE, University of Toronto, Canada Editorial Board Christopher Day, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom Stephen L. Jacobson, Graduate School of Education, Buffalo, U.S.A. Bill Mulford, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia Peter Sleegers, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands SCOPE OF THE SERIES Leadership we know makes all the difference in success or failures of organizations. This series will bring together in a highly readable way the most recent insights in successful leadership. Emphasis will be placed on research focused on pre-collegiate educational organizations. Volumes should address issues related to leadership at all levels of the educational system and be written in a style accessible to scholars, educational practitioners and policy makers throughout the world. The volumes – monographs and edited volumes – should represent work from different parts in the world. For further volumes: http://www.springer.com/series/6543 #HARLES&7EBBER s *UDY,,UPART Editors Leading Student Assessment Editors Charles F. Webber Judy L. Lupart Faculty of Human, Social and Educational Department of Educational Psychology Development University of Alberta Thompson Rivers University Edmonton, Alberta 900 McGill Road Canada, T6G 2G5 Kamloops, British Columbia [email protected] Canada, V2C OC8 [email protected] ISBN 978-94-007-1726-8 e-ISBN 978-94-007-1727-5 DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-1727-5 Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg London New York Library of Congress Control Number: 2011938107 © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012 No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) Contents 1 Taking Stock of Here and Now .............................................................. 1 Judy L. Lupart and Charles F. Webber 2 School Leadership, Evidence-Based Decision Making, and Large-Scale Student Assessment .................................................... 17 Kenneth Leithwood 3 Lessons Learned: The Promise and Possibility of Educational Accountability in the United States ............................. 41 Charles L. Slater, Marla W. McGhee, Sarah W. Nelson, and Lionel “Skip” Meno 4 Student Assessment Policy and Practice in Alberta: An Assessment for Learning .................................................................. 59 Jim Brandon and Marsi Quarin-Wright 5 Fair and Ethical Student Assessment Practices ................................... 87 Jean L. Pettifor and Donald H. Saklofske 6 How Can Psychological Assessment Inform Classroom Practice? The Role of the School Psychologist in Canadian Schools ................................................................................ 107 Joan Jeary and Vicki L. Schwean 7 Current Issues in Assessing Students with Special Needs ................... 133 John Venn 8 Student and School Characteristics Related to Student Achievement: A Methodological Approach ....................... 151 John O. Anderson 9 Student Voice in Fair Assessment Practice ........................................... 175 Nola Aitken v vi Contents 10 Grade Level of Achievement Data: Key Indicators for School-Based Decision-Makers ............................. 201 John Burger and Anna Nadirova 11 Teacher Feedback in Formative Classroom Assessment ..................... 225 Susan M. Brookhart 12 Using a Measurement Paradigm to Guide Classroom Assessment Processes ........................................... 241 Sandy Heldsinger 13 Putting the Focus on Learning: Shifting Classroom Assessment Practices ............................................. 263 Sherry Bennett and Dale Armstrong 14 The Ecology of Student Assessment ...................................................... 283 Charles F. Webber, Judy L. Lupart, and Shelleyann Scott Index ................................................................................................................. 297 About the Editors Charles F. Webber is Professor and Dean in the Faculty of Human, Social, and Educational Development at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, Canada. His current research focuses on the influence of school leaders on student achievement and on cross-cultural leadership development, including technology- mediated leadership development. During his career as an educator he has served as a classroom teacher, curriculum consultant, principal, professor, associate dean, and dean. His work appears in national and international journals and he has served as an invited presenter in conferences, seminars, and workshops in North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, New Zealand, and Australia. He was the founding editor of the International Electronic Journal for Leadership in Learning published by the University of Calgary Press, and he is the past academic editor of the Educational Forum, a scholarly journal published by the American educational honor society Kappa Delta Pi based in Indianapolis. Judy L. Lupart is Professor and Canada Research Chair in Special Education, beginning January 2003, in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Alberta. She has served as the Founding Director of the University of Calgary Centre for Gifted Education, and the Founding Editor of the journal Exceptionality Education Canada. Her research, publication, and teaching interests include inclusive education and school transformation; cognition, transfer, and educational applications; learning disabilities, giftedness, and at-risk learners; and girls, women, and achievement. vii About the Contributors Nola Aitken is a Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Lethbridge. Nola was a schoolteacher for over two decades before working as a Test Development Specialist for the Mathematics Provincial Achievement Program at Alberta Education. Since her 5-year term at Alberta Education, Nola has been teaching and researching student assessment in undergraduate and graduate programs, mathematics education, and Native ways of knowing mathematics at the University of Lethbridge. John O. Anderson is Professor and Chair of the Department of Educational Psychology and Leadership Studies at the University of Victoria. He teaches and researches in the area of educational measurement and large-scale student assessment. Dale Armstrong held a variety of positions with Edmonton Public Schools, including teacher, science consultant, assistant principal, principal, and Director of Student Assessment. He completed his graduate studies in curriculum and instruction at the University of Oregon and pursued independent study with U.S. assessment experts Grant Wiggins, Jay McTighe, and Richard Stiggins. He was instrumental in the formation of the Alberta Assessment Consortium and served as the chairperson for 4 years. Dale was a sessional lecturer at the University of Alberta, teaching a course in Assessing, Evaluating, and Communicating Student Learning in the Faculty of Education. Dale coauthored two articles on curriculum alignment and has been involved in the writing of four publications produced by the Alberta Assessment Consortium. As a private consultant, he facilitated many workshops throughout Alberta, British Columbia, the United States of America, and Singapore. Dale was a coauthor of the original submission of the chapter included in this book. However, he passed away in October 2008 before the final submission was completed. He is recognized as coauthor to acknowledge his part in the original submission, as well as the tremendous contribution he made to the work of the Alberta Assessment Consortium since its inception in 1993. ix x About the Contributors Sherry Bennett is the Executive Director of the Alberta Assessment Consortium (AAC). Her career in education has included the roles of music specialist, elementary generalist, curriculum coordinator, and consultant. Prior to assuming her role as Executive Director, Sherry was involved with a variety of AAC projects as a deve- loper, reviewer, author, and workshop facilitator, presenting assessment workshops throughout Alberta as well as in the Northwest Territories and Singapore. She completed a 2-year secondment in the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta, teaching undergraduate education courses and mentoring student teachers. Sherry has authored a variety of student, teacher, and professional development materials to support Alberta programs of study. In her current role, she guides the development of classroom assessment materials, professional development resources, and publications to enhance the building of assessment capacity in Alberta. Jim Brandon is an Assistant Professor and the Director of Professional Programs at the University of Calgary. He is a past president of the College of Alberta School Superintendents and its former Director of Leadership Capacity Building. Jim served a total of 23 years in the superintendency of two Alberta school districts, worked as a principal for nine years and as a vice-principal for four. Teaching secondary social studies was his primary focus during his classroom years.

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