Assessment in Science : Practical Experience and Education Research

Assessment in Science: Practical Experiences and Education Research details the latest research about assessment techniques that really work. This collection of informative, up-to-date reports is by authors who are practicing K–12 classroom teachers and university-based educators and researchers. Working in teams, they tried out and evaluated different assessment approaches in actual classrooms.

The research is sound and easy to grasp. The book stays true to its title by capturing practical lessons in accessible language. The reports feature “classroom testing stories, standards-based assessment techniques, teaching-testing dilemmas, portfolio struggles and triumphs, and knowledge of the research on assessment.”

The 18 chapters are structured for ease of comprehension, moving from a detailed description of how the research was carried out, to research findings, to concrete implications for the classroom. There is also a “Links to the National Science Education Standards” box and resources list in each chapter. Included throughout are 28 tables and 25 figures, some of which are classroom rubrics.

Though it’s enlightening for classroom teachers at all levels, Assessment in Science is also ideal for curriculum supervisors and professors who teach science education—and anyone else who needs to know what’s most current in proven assessment techniques.

An excellent overview of the current research in assessment. Contributors present practical classroom-tested, research-based exemplars that allow readers to develop a deeper understanding of how these tools guide teaching practice. Assessment models are linked to National Science Education Standards. --Curriculum Connections, School Library Journal, Spring 2007

I bought the book because I will be the dept. chair at a new high school and we want to have common assessment in all our classes. It has a How to guide that appears to be very helpful. It also has chapters in inquiry assessment and using rubrics, again all things that we will be required to do at our new high school. --Reviewed by: Kathe Blue Hetter (Ann Arbor, MI) on October 31, 2007

I was disappointed when the examples in the book were so unrelated to the average public school situations in our district. I wish that I hadn't bought it. It just sits on the shelf. --Reviewed by: Amy (Newark, DE) on July 14, 2008 --Reviewed by: Amy (Newark, DE) on July 14, 2008

If bought the book because I will be the dept. chair at a new high school and we want to have common assessment in all our classes. It has a "How to" guide that appears to be very helpful. It also has chapters in inquiry assessment and using rubrics, again all things that we will be required to do at our new high school. --Reviewed by: Kathe Blue Hetter (Ann Arbor, MI) on October 31, 2007

I was disappointed when the examples in the book were so unrelated to the average public school situations in our district. I wish that I hadn't bought it. It just sits on the shelf. --Reviewed by: Amy (Newark, DE) on July 14, 2008