How to Assess Authentic Learning

'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. 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 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; and, 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.