Classroom Assessment: What Teachers Need to Know (5th Edition) [Paperback]

W. James Popham (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0205510752 | ISBN-13: 978-0205510757 | Publication Date: February 26, 2007 | Edition: 5

Written with style and  whimsey, this text focuses on what classroom teachers really need to know about assessment rather than looking at a collection of measurement esoterica. This well-written book is grounded in the reality of teaching today to show real-world teachers who want to use assessment in their classrooms the latest tools necessary to teach more effectively. The fifth edition of Classroom Assessment addresses the range of assessments that teachers are likely to use in their classrooms. With expanded coverage of problems related to measurement of special education children, a new student website with online activities, and an improved instructor’s manual, this book continues to be a cutting edge and indispensable resource not only for instructors, but also pre and in-service teachers.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Classroom Assessment: What Teachers Need to Know, 5/e

By James Popham

 

Written with style and grace, this text focuses on what classroom teachers really need to know about assessment rather than looking at a collection of measurement esoterica. This well-written book is grounded in the reality of teaching today to show real-world teachers who want to use assessment in their classroom the latest tools necessary to teach more effectively. The fifth edition of Classroom Assessment addresses the range of assessments that teachers are likely to use in their classrooms. With expanded coverage of problems related to measurement of special education children, a new student website with online activities, and an improved instructor’s manual, this book continues to be a cutting-edge and indispensable resource not only for instructors, but also for pre- and in-service teachers.

 

New to This Edition:

• Chapter 12 contains new material dealing with formative assessment as well as “assessment FOR learning.”
• The text is committed to fostering readers’ realizations regarding the critical link between testing and teaching. Instructional implications are constantly stressed in the text.
• Includes expanded coverage of measurement of special education children and early childhood assessment throughout the text.
• The 5^th edition contains a brand-new website providing readers with Extra Electronic Exercises for each chapter, so readers, if they wish, can solidify their understanding of what chapters address (go to www.ablongman.com/popham5e).
• A newly revised Instructor’s Resource Manual contains “Instructor-to-Instructor” suggestions as well as a test for each chapter. It also includes a mid-term and final exam and an effective inventory measuring students’ confidence in assessment.

Here’s what your colleagues have to say about this book:

 

“Dr. Popham has done a tremendous job in researching and incorporating current trends throughout the entire text!”

Terry H. Stepka, Arkansas State University

 

“Overall, I am extremely satisfied with the text. It is well-written, and I love the author’s sense of humor!”

Terry H. Stepka, Arkansas State University

 

“I LOVE the arrangement of the chapters and the high quality of the self-checks and discussion questions that are provided.”

Karen E. Eifler, University of Portland

About the Author

W. James Popham has spent the bulk of his educational career as a teacher. His first teaching assignment, for example, was in a small eastern Oregon high school where he taught English and social studies while serving as yearbook advisor, class sponsor, and unpaid tennis coach.  That recompense meshed ideally with the quality of his coaching.

 

            Most of Dr. Popham's teaching career took place at UCLA where, for nearly 30 years, he taught courses in instructional methods for prospective teachers as well as courses in evaluation and measurement for graduate students.  At UCLA he won several distinguished teaching awards.  In January 2000, he was recognized by UCLA Today as one of UCLA’s top 20 professors of the 20th century.  (He notes that the 20^th century was a full-length century, unlike the current abbreviated one.)  In 1992, he took early retirement from UCLA upon learning that emeritus professors received free parking.

 

            Because at UCLA he was acutely aware of the perishability of professors who failed to publish, he spent his non-teaching hours affixing words to paper.  The result: over 25 books, 200 journal articles, 50 research reports, and 175 papers presented before research societies.  Although not noted in his official vita, while at UCLA he also authored 1,426 grocery lists.

 

            His most recent books are Classroom Assessment: What Teachers Need to Know, 4th Ed. (2005) and Assessment for Educational Leaders (2006), Allyn & Bacon; The Truth About Testing: An Educator’s Call to Action (2001) and Test Better, Teach Better: the Instructional Role of Assessment (2003), ASCD; America’s “Failing” Schools: How Parents and Teachers Can Cope with No Child Left Behind (2005) and Mastering Assessment: A Self-Service System for Educators (2006), RoutledgeFalmer.  He encourages purchase of these books because he regards their semi-annual royalties as psychologically reassuring.

 

            In 1978, Dr. Popham was elected to the presidency of the American Educational Research Association (AERA).  He was also the founding editor of Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, a quarterly journal published by AERA.  He has attended each year's AERA meeting since his first in 1958.  He is inordinately compulsive.

 

            In 1968, Dr. Popham established IOX Assessment Associates, an R&D group that formerly created statewide student achievement tests for a dozen states.  He has personally passed all of those tests, largely because of his unlimited access to the tests’ answer keys.

 

            In 2002 the National Council on Measurement in Education presented him with its Award for Career Contributions to Educational Measurement. In 2006 he was awarded a Certificate of Recognition by the National Association of Test Directors.  Dr. Popham’s complete 42-page, single-spaced vita can be requested.  It is really dull reading.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Allyn & Bacon; 5 edition (February 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0205510752
• ISBN-13: 978-0205510757
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #111,598 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dr. Popham has spent the bulk of his educational career as a teacher. Most of his teaching took place at UCLA where, for nearly 20 years, he taught courses in instructional methods as well as courses in evaluation and measurement. Because he was aware of the perishability of professors who fail to publish, he spent his non-teaching hours affixing words to paper. A summary of his publications can be found in a 44-page, single-spaced vita. Although his books are filled with whimsy, the vita is really dull reading. Most recently, Dr. Popham was appointed to the National Assessment Governing Board.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Easy to understand, helpful for K-12 teachers, October 18, 2001

By 

R. Kelly Wagner "[e-mail]" (MD, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Classroom Assessment: What Teachers Need to Know (Paperback)

Popham's work is some of the easiest-to-read, least jargon filled, in the area of designing classroom tests. Chapter by chapter, he takes the reader through the different kinds of test questions, how to write them, how to grade them, how to tell if your students understand what you're asking; then he provides case studies, examples, and lists of further reading.

The easy kinds of questions come first: selected-response, that is, questions where the test-taker picks an answer from ones provided by the teacher, such as multiple-choice, true-false, and matching. Popham explains how to write these clearly, how to reduce the confusion on the direction of true-false questions (and why it's NOT a good idea to try and "trick" your students by writing ambiguous or deliberately confusing answers).

Then the constructed-response type of questions, that is, ones where students write the answers: short-answer and essay. Again, Popham discusses how to write these clearly, how to write instructions indicating what kind of answer you expect, and, perhaps most important, especially for the novice teacher, how to grade these types of questions. He goes through the issue of "rubrics" - grading systems for essay questions which tell how many points will be given for different features of the answer, such as the value of the information, the spelling and grammar, the use of certain key words, etc, and how to decide what will constitute an "excellent" or "acceptable" or "not acceptable" answer in those categories.

One of the most extensive and informative features of the book is Popham's sidebars on how to explain to students why they have to take these kinds of tests, and, even more, how to explain tests to parents, especially standardized tests. Explaining to parents what the tests are supposed to measure, and how test results will be used, is a very big issue these days, especially in states with high-stakes testing; Popham's book will give you practice in addressing questions from parents, administrators, etc.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good info, but annoying writing style, July 11, 2005

By 

J.L. - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Classroom Assessment: What Teachers Need to Know (4th Edition) (Paperback)

I had to buy this book to use in a class I'm taking. I find the information in the book to be very complete and packed full of useful information. However, in an effort to lighten the heaviness of the topic, the author resorts to silly interjections and comments that destroy the flow of the text. I found it jarring and annoying.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Used for my college course..., July 8, 2010

By 

Veronica - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Classroom Assessment: What Teachers Need to Know (6th Edition) (Paperback)

I think the book is an easy read text. I had to order it for my college course. If you are an experienced teacher, then there really is no new information in here if you are up to date on assessment strategies. However, for a new teacher, it would be helpful.