Product Description

"This is a surprising and welcome book... a heartening read that shows the power of assessment for learning and the potential for academics and teachers jointly to put into practice ideas that can improve classroom learning and teaching."
TES

The starting point of this book was the realisation that research studies worldwide provide hard evidence that development of formative assessment raises students' test scores. The significant improvement in the achievements of the students in this project confirms this research, while providing teachers, teacher trainers, school heads and others leaders with ideas and advice for improving formative assessment in the classroom.

Assessment for Learning is based on a two-year project involving thirty-six teachers in schools in Medway and Oxfordshire. After a brief review of the research background and of the project itself, successive chapters describe the specific practices which teachers found fruitful and the underlying ideas about learning that these developments illustrate. Later chapters discuss the problems that teachers encountered when implementing the new practices in their classroom and give guidance for school management and LEAs about promoting and supporting the changes.

This book offers valuable insights into assessment for learning as teachers describe in their own words how they turned the ideas into practical action in their schools.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2645 in Books
• Published on: 2003-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 152 pages

From the Back Cover
The starting point of this book was the realisation that research studies worldwide provide hard evidence that development of formative assessment raises students’ test scores. The significant improvement in the achievements of the students in this project confirms this research, while providing teachers, teacher trainers, school heads and others leaders with ideas and advice for improving formative assessment in the classroom.

Assessment for Learning is based on a two-year project involving thirty-six teachers in schools in Medway and Oxfordshire. After a brief review of the research background and of the project itself, successive chapters describe the specific practices which teachers found fruitful and the underlying ideas about learning that these developments illustrate. Later chapters discuss the problems that teachers encountered when implementing the new practices in their classroom and give guidance for school management and LEAs about promoting and supporting the changes.

This book offers valuable insights into assessment for learning as teachers describe in their own words how they turned the ideas into practical action in their schools.

About the Author

Customer Reviews

Summing up the work so far
This is an excellent book for teachers and administrators who are unfamiliar with the work of Paul Black, Dylan Wiliam, et. al. The book sums up the extensive review of the literature and research on assessment for learning and the work of the Kings Medway Formative Assessment Project who have been trialing a variety of ways to carry out formative assessment in the classroom. The book is grounded in the realistic. It explains carefully how formative assessment can improve pupils' learning and then provides case studies to show how it can be managed in the classroom context. The only down side to this book is that if you have already read much of Black and Wiliam's papers on this subject then this will provide little that is new, although even then it does summarise the earlier papers into an easily readable format. This book is a must have for anyone who is concerned with raising standards in education.

Every teacher should read this book
I am a Clinical Teacher in a hospital. Reading this book about secondary education transformed my whole approach to teaching and learning. Gone are all those boring PowerPoints, replaced with a couple of smart questions, some protected stress free thinking time, and then off into lively discussions and debates. Pages 32 to 41 on questioning are worth the price of the whole book. I could go on and on, but just buy the book and persevere!

Thank Heaven
I am a trainee teacher. I had been labouring my way through all manner of boring stuff about formative assessment until I read this. The book tells you not only how to do it, but why it works. It deals magnificently with the real world and any possible objections. Instead of all that worthy stuff about improving learning, it makes the very valid point that the teaching becomes more enjoyable when you use the methods outlined so clearly in the book. The learning is improved as well, of course.