Assessment, Equity, and Opportunity to Learn (Learning in Doing: Social, Cognitive and Computational Perspectives)

Providing all students with a fair opportunity to learn (OTL) is perhaps the most pressing issue facing U.S. education. Moving beyond conventional notions of OTL – as access to content, often content tested; access to resources; or access to instructional processes – the authors reconceptualize OTL in terms of interaction among learners and elements of their learning environments. Drawing on sociocultural, sociological, psychometric, and legal perspectives, this book provides historical critique, theory and principles, and concrete examples of practice through which learning, teaching, and assessment can be re-envisioned to support fair OTL for all students. This book offers educators, researchers, and policy analysts new to sociocultural perspectives a readable and engaging introduction to fresh ideas for conceptualizing, enhancing, and assessing OTL; encourages those who already draw on sociocultural resources to focus attention on OTL and assessment; and nurtures collaboration among members of discourse communities who have rarely engaged one another’s work.

Pamela A. Moss is a Professor of Education at the University of Michigan School of Education. She is co-founder and co-editor of the journal Measurement: Interdisciplinary Research and Perspectives and editor of the 2007 yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education titled Evidence and Decision Making.

Diana C. Pullin is Professor in the Lynch School of Education and Affiliate Professor of Law at Boston College. She serves as an expert advisor to the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences on panels advising the U.S. Congress and federal government on testing and assessment in education and employment and is Associate Editor of Education Policy.

James Paul Gee received his PhD in linguistics from Stanford University in 1975 and is a member of the National Academy of Education. His most recent publications include What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy (2003); Why Video Games Are Good for Your Soul (2005); and Good Video Games and Good Learning (2007).

Edward H. Haertel's recent publications include articles in Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice and Measurement: Interdisciplinary Research and Perspectives, a co-edited yearbook for the National Society for the Study of Education, and a chapter in the most recent edition of Educational Measurement. Haertel is Professor of Education at Stanford University.

Lauren Jones Young is Program Director for The Spencer Foundation. In addition to two edited books and a number of monographs, she has published in several journals, including Educational Researcher, Anthropology and Education Quarterly, Harvard Educational Review, Women and Health, The National Law Review, Phi Delta Kappan, Theory into Practice, and Journal of Teacher Education.