Periodic Assessments and Diagnostic Reports: Case Studies in Mathematics and Literacy Intervention Program

摘要

This paper discusses the formative use of periodic assessments as they were developed and are in use by America’s Choice Pearson in its mathematics and language arts intervention programs. It is a practical case study of the use of design principles in creating assessments that are useful for classroom teachers and, by the nature of their design, provide diagnostic information that is instructionally relevant. The use of these measures varies with the program but all of them are designed to highlight misconceptions or common error patterns. It is important to recognize that misconceptions occur in both content domains, as they do in other domains. Uncovering misconceptions or error patterns offers tremendous insight into a formative use of assessments, since the reasons behind answering a question incorrectly can directly inform instructional practice. This approach is also underscored by some of the suggestions in the lead article in this issue of ED.