Deborah Crusan – författare

Linking Assignments to Assessments is designed for teachers in training in TESOL programs, future preK–12 teachers, and practicing instructors who need to integrate assessment into classrooms. Educators seeking fair and accessible assessment practices for English learners will find helpful information on language acquisition and differentiated instruction.The book shares foundational information on the importance of assessment literacy and on how language acquisition, student backgrounds, and language standards need to be considered. Linking Assignments to Assessments offers step-by-step instructions on creating effective assessments for listening and reading, speaking and writing, grammar and vocabulary. Teachers are provided context for understanding standardized assessments and strategies to advocate for and prepare English learners in high-stakes assessment contexts. Each chapter includes activities, discussion questions, and strategies for developing an assessment philosophy to help educators link their theory and practice.

As workloads and work responsibilities continue to increase, assessment often causes teachers anxiety. Rubrics: What Every Teacher Needs to Know is a handbook that combines theory and pragmatism in clear language to help pre- and in-service teachers and teacher trainers obtain assessment information quickly and efficiently. While many teachers do not realize that creating an assignment is creating an assessment, they should go hand in hand. This book highlights both the value of rubrics and the value of assessment literacy, which is the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to create, administer, and understand the results of assessments to improve student learning.Rubrics provides new and experienced teachers with the tools to become more transparent assessors of their students’ writing, reading, listening, speaking, grammar, and vocabulary. Deborah Crusan and Robyn Brinks Lockwood bring their expertise in assessment and English for academic purposes to address the challenges teachers face in writing clear assignments and grading them fairly. They emphasize that teachers need to think about what they want their students to be able to do, clarify their expectations to their students, and convey those expectations on a rubric/scoring guide. While transparent, step-by-step instructions are included in the book to help teachers create their own assignments and assessments, the appendix materials containing ready-made assignments and their accompanying rubrics will be sure to delight busy teachers.

Writing groups often fly under the radar in academia, but they can make a big difference. Faculty are under constant pressure to publish while juggling teaching, research, and service. Add packed schedules and limited time, and writing can easily get sidelined—especially for women balancing work and family. Breaking Boundaries: How Writing Groups Fuel Women’s Academic Success explores how writing groups offer support, structure, and community to help navigate these challenges.Whether you’re a grad student trying to finish a dissertation, a stuck faculty member, or someone newly tenured wondering what’s next—you’re in the right place. This book shares honest stories, insights, and encouragement from women who have found strength in writing together. Each chapter highlights real experiences with writing groups—what helped, what didn’t, and how these groups shaped the authors’ scholarly identities. They discuss topics such as overcoming imposter syndrome, access to writing resources, navigating the stress of tenure, making academic contributions outside traditional paths, and creating sustainable writing habits. The contributors come from diverse disciplines and deliver practical advice for making writing fit into a hectic academic life. Their message is clear: when scholars support each other in writing, they not only grow their own careers, but also become mentors, leaders, and role models in the academic world.

Reflecting the internationalization of the field of second language writing, this book focuses on political aspects and pedagogical issues of writing instruction and testing in a global context. High-stakes assessment impacts the lives of second language (L2) writers and their teachers around the world, be it the College English Test in China, Common Core-aligned assessments in the U.S., English proficiency tests in Poland, or the material conditions (such as access to technology, training, and other resources) affecting a classroom. With contributions from authors working in ten different countries in a variety of institutional contexts, the chapters examine the uses and abuses of various writing-related assessments, and the policies that determine their form and use. Representing a diverse range of contexts, methods, and disciplines, the authors jointly call for more equitable testing systems that consider the socioeconomic, psychometric, affective, institutional, and needs of all students who strive to gain access to education and employment opportunities related to English language proficiency.