Authors Nicole Dimich and Anisa Baker-Busby deliver the ultimate practical handbook on assessment for educators. Using the framework from Design in Five, Second Edition, this companion guide simplifies complex work into step-by-step protocols and editable templates for teachers. The examples and tools facilitate implementing and using all phases of the Design in Five process, saving time, ensuring student investment, and increasing achievement.
K–12 teachers, principals, and instructional coaches can use this book to: - Examine, identify, and select relevant educational standards to guide learning goals
- Analyze standards to create a clear learning progression across curriculum design
- Develop an assessment plan to measure student growth along learning progressions
- Create assessments according to criteria that align with target learning goals
- Engage students in continued learning through reflection, feedback, and clear test scoring
Contents: Introduction
Phase One: Choosing Standards and Planning Engagement
Phase Two: Analyzing Standards and Constructing Learning Progressions
Phase Three: Crafting an Assessment Plan
Phase Four: Creating the Assessment and Gathering the Materials
Phase Five, Part 1: Designing a Scoring Scheme
Phase Five, Part 2: Building a Student-Reflection Tool
Phase Five, Part 3: Collaborating on Data and Student Work Analysis
Phase Five, Part 4: Using Assessment to Build Student Partnership
Epilogue: The Journey Continues
Appendix A: Implementation Guides
Appendix B
References and Resources
Index
Nicole Dimich has a passion for education and lifelong learning, which has led her to extensively explore, facilitate, and implement innovative practices in school transformation. She works with elementary and secondary educators in presentations, trainings, and consultations that address today’s most critical issues, all in the spirit of facilitating increased student learning and confidence.
Dimich was the executive director of Thrive Ed, a nonprofit working to fundamentally transform education by empowering students, teachers, and guiding coalitions to innovate and thrive. She earned a master of arts in human development from Saint Mary’s University and a bachelor of arts in English and psychology from Concordia College.
Dimich is the author of Design in Five: Essential Phases to Create Engaging Assessment Practice and the coauthor of multiple books, including Jackpot: Nurturing Student Investment Through Assessment, Concise Answers to Frequently Asked Questions About Assessment and Grading, Motivating Students: 25 Strategies to Light the Fire of Engagement, Growing Tomorrow’s Citizens in Today’s Classrooms: Assessing Seven Critical Competencies, Instructional Agility: Responding to Assessment With Real-Time Decisions, and Essential Assessment: Six Tenets for Bringing Hope, Efficacy, and Achievement to the Classroom. She has also contributed to the best-selling The Teacher as Assessment Leader and The Principal as Assessment Leader series.
To learn more about Dimich’s work, visit http://allthingsassessment.info or follow her on LinkedIn or @NicoleDimich on X.
Anisa Baker-Busby, EdD, is a highly regarded educational leader, speaker, and author with over twenty years of experience as an elementary teacher and administrator. Known for her unwavering commitment to fostering high levels of learning for all students, Dr. Baker-Busby excels in helping schools build systems of support for collaborative teams. Her dedication to maintaining a climate of care, compassion, and celebration while cultivating a learning-focused culture for teachers and students led her to successfully lead two schools to become National Model PLC Schools and Georgia PBIS Distinguished Schools, with one also recognized as a Title I Distinguished School.
Dr. Baker-Busby thrives on the challenge of collaborating with teacher teams and leaders to enhance learning outcomes through PLC at Work practices and assessments. She specializes in guiding teams to develop robust Tier 1 instructional and assessment practices and uses assessment data to inform real-time instructional decisions. Her expertise ensures a sharp focus on the foundational principles of PLCs: collaboration, learning, and results.
Dr. Baker-Busby is the coauthor of The Handbook for Highly Effective Teams in a PLC at Work®: Essential Actions for Tackling Critical Issues.
