Traditional assessments often reveal very little about students’ thinking. Nancy describes how activities that engage students in complex, multifaceted demonstrations of learning can transfer the responsibility to students to reveal the quality of their thinking while seamlessly helping them learn the content more deeply and lastingly. -Ellin Oliver Keene
There’s an old saying that school is a place where young people go to watch old people work. Live assessments offer us a way to turn this backwards arrangement around. Live assessments reinforce vital subject matter while expanding kids’ preparation and performance skills. They honor the learning goals you’ve set for your students while also reflecting the standards your state has mandated. They are rigorous yet offer students the opportunity for flexibility, creativity, and innovation. By now you should have one question left: How do I get started? -Nancy Steineke
Listen to a podcast of Nancy discussing Assessment Live! with Harvey Smokey Daniels.
Acclaimed author and educator Nancy Steineke offers the definitive how-to handbook for implementing highly structured and productive assessment activities. Building on her 32 years of classroom experience, Nancy shows teachers how to balance their approach to assessment and easily incorporate performance projects into their curriculum. After chronicling the research and rationale behind live assessments, Nancy describes strategies that teachers can use to foster a supportive classroom culture where assessment activities and presentation skills flourish. The chapters that follow outline ten specific live assessments that can be used to personalize learning and help your students show what they know. Each chapter presents:
the rationale for the activity
lists of the reading, writing, and speaking/listening standards skills students will apply
step-by-step support including samples of student work, tips for troubleshooting predictable problems, and strategies for adapting and modifying activities
rubrics, scoring sheets, and other reproducibles for students
Use Assessment Alive! and find out what your students really know.
