Drowning in Data?: How to Collect, Organize, and Document Student Performance

Effective teaching has always required continuous assessment. But now, with testing and standards an increasing presence in your practice, classroom assessment can not only benefit your teaching, but also give you a professional, student-centered way to document your performance and meet third-party expectations.

Drowning in Data? outlines best practices for ongoing assessment that help you both plan instruction for your students and determine how much and how well they are learning. Mary Shea, Rosemary Murray, and Rebecca Harlin offer an overarching framework for assessment as well as a specific implementation plan. CARP (Collect, Analyze, Report, Plan) is a clear, concise assessment system that frames the goals and objectives of assessment, while TWIN is a specific portfolio-based means to show evidence of Thinking, Work samples, In-the-classroom benchmarks, and Norm-referenced or other standardized achievement testing. Together, CARP and TWIN simplify assessment by breaking it down into manageable chunks, while, at the same time, making information readily available to plan your teaching or substantiate student achievement.

With numerous student-work samples from a wide range of grade levels, Drowning in Data? demonstrates how actionable evidence can be retrieved day by day, moment by moment in any instructional relationship. Whether you are a veteran searching for a better way to document your teaching, a preservice teacher, or a novice teacher, Drowning in Data? is your best source for ideas on high-quality, ongoing assessment.