Test Better, Teach Better: The Instructional Role of Assessment [Paperback]

W. James Popham (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0871206676 | ISBN-13: 978-0871206671 | Publication Date: August 2003 | Edition: 1

The right kinds of tests, correctly applied, can help every teacher become a better teacher. But unless you know the nuts and bolts of effective test design and application, you may be collecting the wrong data; misinterpreting data; and drawing off-base conclusions about what students know and can do, what to teach next, and how effective your instruction has been.

In Test Better, Teach Better, assessment expert W. James Popham explores the links between assessment and instruction and provides a jargon-free look at classroom and large-scale test construction, interpretation, and application. Featuring sample items, testing tips, and recommended resources, this "crash course" in instructionally focused assessment includes

* The four types of instructional decisions that testing will illuminate.
* What you really need to know about measurement concepts like validity, reliability, and bias.
* The advantages and disadvantages of various test formats and experience-based rules for creating great items in each.
* The benefits of assessing student affect and guidelines for doing it in your own classroom.

In addition, Popham offers practical advice for dealing with today's myriad testing targets and explains how standards-based achievement tests currently don't (but could) provide both accountability evidence and useful instructional information.

Product Details

• Paperback: 175 pages
• Publisher: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Deve; 1 edition (August 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871206676
• ISBN-13: 978-0871206671
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #301,781 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

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enthusiastically recommended reading for classroom educators, November 15, 2003

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Test Better, Teach Better: The Instructional Role of Assessment (Paperback)

Test Better, Teach Better: The Instructional Role Of Assessment is an informative guideline by W. James Popham (Professor Emeritus, UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies) to using test data to improve classroom instructor's ability to educate children and prepare them for the future. From the often-misused value of standardized achievement tests; to applying tests judiciously in order to clarify one's curriculum; to minimizing bias and taking it into account, and more, Test Better, Teach Better is enthusiastically recommended reading for classroom educators dedicated to utilizing every means at their disposal to improve the academic abilities of their students regardless of the subject matter being taught. Also highly recommended is the Association For Supervision And Curriculum Development website at www.ascd.org

5.0 out of 5 stars dynamite comes in small packages, January 8, 2011

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1Corinthians15_10 - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Test Better, Teach Better: The Instructional Role of Assessment (Paperback)

Great book, I find myself coming back to the principles taught here again and again. One class had me purchasing a $100 book for assessments. I switched classes and the teacher (who was a public school teacher herself) had us buy this book. Fabulous. This guy really is a guru, and makes things so clear and uncomplicated. Academic yes, but not overly technical. A real meat & potatoes book, which I remember every time I make an assessment for my classes.