Drowning in Data?: How to Collect, Organize, and Document Student Performance

 

Drowning in Data? outlines best practices for ongoing assessment that help you both plan instruction for your students and determine how much and how well they are learning. Mary Shea, Rosemary Murray, and Rebecca Harlin offer an overarching framework for assessment as well as a specific implementation plan. CARP (Collect, Analyze, Report, Plan) is a clear, concise assessment system that frames the goals and objectives of assessment, while TWIN is a specific portfolio-based means to show evidence of Thinking, Work samples, In-the-classroom benchmarks, and Norm-referenced or other standardized achievement testing. Together, CARP and TWIN simplify assessment by breaking it down into manageable chunks, while, at the same time, making information readily available to plan your teaching or substantiate student achievement.

Mary Shea is an associate professor at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, where she teaches in and directs the graduate literacy programs. Previously, she worked for many years in western New York schools as a classroom teacher, literacy specialist, and language-arts coordinator.