The Assessment Bridge

Pearl G. Solomon is professor emerita of teacher education at St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkill, New York. She has served as a director and officer for professional organizations and as a consultant to many school districts, the New York State Education Department, and the United States Department of Education. Solomon is the recipient of a number of special awards from the state and community for her work in science, math, health, and career education.

"Just the kind of bridge we need to span the ideological wars and make schools work for teachers and their students."

• Foreword - by Ann LiebermanPrefaceAbout the Author1. Defining the Problem: The Historical ContextAbout This ChapterSchools as Transmitters of CultureWhat Early 20th-Century Schools Were LikeMy School in BethelElementary Schools in Depression-Era New York CityEducation Beyond the ClassroomSchools in the Later 20th Century: A Beginning TeacherIQ Tests and Regents ExamsDefining and Dealing With DifferencesWhat the Research Told UsProving My Point: Giving Students ChoicesBack to BasicsSpecial EducationUsing History as a Decision Base2. Schools at the Beginning of the 21st Century: Problems and Proposed SolutionsAbout This ChapterDefining the ProblemProposed Solution One: Defining Educational StandardsProposed Solution Two: School AccountabilityThe Government Response: High-Stake TestingHigh-Stakes Testing: The Other Stakeholders RespondProposed Solution Three: Achieveing Equity Through School ChoiceProposed Solution Four: Extending the Time for SchoolingTime for EnrichmentTime for a Good StartProposed Solution Five: Technology in the ClassroomThe Research Base for Technology UseTechnology as an Assessment Tool and ManagerThe Current Status of the Use of Technology in SchoolsTechnology for Communicating With Our PublicSome Conclusions About Technology in the Classroom3. Taking the First Steps Toward Productive ChangeAbout This ChapterThe Variables of ChangeVision and VoiceHistory and SettingBounded RationalityOpportunism and Asset-Specific InvestmentsStep One: Building New CapacityStep Two: Generating OwnershipStep Three: Assuming LeadershipStep Four: Providing Time for Learning and ChangeChanging Schools in the Search for a Better Future4. The Assessment Roadway: How Tests Tell Us What to DoAbout This ChapterDemonstrating KnowledgeDefining Standards and AssessmentRubricsThe Task-Specific RubricThe Developmental RubricUsing Rubrics in Formative and Summative AssessmentSummative ApplicationsGenerating Ownership of TestsReaching Consensus on Group Summative ScoresMatching Distal and Proximal MeasuresValidity: Does It Fit?Generating Ownership: Begin With Curriculum-Based Proximal AssessmentsPreparing for the Tests: Curriculum TeachingProximal Measures Responding to HSSB AnalysesWhat Lies Beneath: Disaggregating ScoresDisaggregating for Noninstructional DifferencesRelationship of Teacher Training and Experience to Student AchievementOther Cultural and School Variables: Confronting the Achievement Gap5. Responding to High-Stakes, Standards-Based (HSSB) Tests: Restructuring CurriculumAbout This ChapterTwo Alternative Responses to HSSB TestsAlternative One: Starting With the HSSB TestEmbedded ConceptsAssessment-Responsive Curriculum AdjustmentsStarting From a Core of HSSB Tests: Applying and Responding to AnalysisAlternative Two: Starting With the StandardsResponding to Test Data With Curriculum ReconstructionIn Conclusion: Assessing Oneself6. Building a Cohort of the Best Teachers: Recruitment, Engagement, NurturanceAbout This ChapterAbout ModelsWhy We Need to Recruit TeachersWhere Teachers Used to Come FromWhy There Is a Current Shortage: The Recruitment PoolWhy There Is a Current Shortage: RetentionSolving the Prestige Problem: Interdependent StakeholdersSolving the Prestige Problem: Changing the Agenda of Teacher UnionsSolving the Prestige Problem: Raising Teacher SalariesThe REN Model: Recruiting HeroesThe REN Model: Educating RecruitsThe REN Model: Engagement in ActionThe REN Model: Engagement in InteractionThe REN Model: Nurturing NovicesNurturing Experienced Teachers: The Need for Better Professional DevelopmentMotivating Teachers to Participate in Professional DevelopmentA Cooperative-Teaching ModelHow I Learned: Cooperative TeachingProfessional-Development Schools: Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) RelationshipsAn Example: The East Ramapo and St. Thomas Aquinas College PDSEngaging in the OLE ProcessSome General Conclusions About Increasing Teachers′ Capacity7. Searching for LeadershipAbout This ChapterUnderstanding Leadership and PowerDirect and Indirect MessagesEvoking ChangeLeading: Giving Power and Indirect MessagesHow Educational Leaders ActA Personal Analysis From the Distributive PerspectiveShared Leadership and PowerThe Power of Money, Matches, Tradition, Time, and PlaceSocial Interactions, Macrotasks, and Microtasks in Curriculum Leadership RolesSocial Interactions, Macrotasks, and Microtasks in the Principal Leadership RoleThe Shortage of AdministratorsLeadership by TeachersLeadership by Teacher NetworksMCMSC Network: Sample ActivitiesWhat We Learned About Leadership NeedsAddressing Sociocultural Needs: Other Sources and Focuses of LeadershipCommunity-Based Leadership: Project ExcelCommunity-Based Leadership: Windhover FarmUsing Models to Build the Assessment BridgeEpilogueReferencesIndex