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- Vol 5 RE: Chapters 1, 2
classroom assessmentassessment validityassessment reliabilityformative assessmentsummative assessmentperformance tasksassessment fairnessinstructional decision makingBook Evidence summaryAt a glance
Nitko and Brookhart provide a comprehensive introduction to classroom assessment and educational measurement. The book begins with planning assessments around learning targets and their intended interpretations, then covers selected-response and constructed-response items, performance tasks, portfolios, observation, formative assessment, feedback, grading, and standardised tests.
Key ideas
Technical ideas such as validity, reliability, error, score scales, norms, and basic statistics are connected to decisions teachers make about instruction and reporting. The authors stress matching method to target: factual knowledge, reasoning, skills, products, and dispositions require different evidence. Assessment quality also depends on representative sampling, clear criteria, accessibility, fairness, and appropriate consequences, not merely on numerical precision. Formative use requires interpreting evidence and adapting teaching or learning, whereas summative use supports defensible judgements after instruction.
Why it matters
For educators, the text offers a disciplined design cycle: clarify purpose, define targets, select or create suitable tasks, evaluate quality, interpret cautiously, communicate responsibly, and examine whether decisions advantage or disadvantage particular learners.
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Edition abbreviations
- TE
- Teacher Edition
- PE
- Practice Edition
- RE
- Research Edition
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