Student-Involved Classroom Assessment (3rd Edition)

Rating:
Summary: Not worth it
Review: 500+ pages for 3 or 4 good ideas just isn't worth it. To all you teachers out there, your time will be better spent reading other professional books/journals rather than this BONE-DRY work. (Makes tax forms look interesting.)

Everyone in my district was paid to read this turkey and I still don't think it was worth it. Look elsewhere, friends...

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book for primary and secondary teachers
Review: I own the two previous editions of this book, and I believe Stiggins provides a very useful approach to classroom assessment for primary and secondary school teachers. Stiggins covers a wide range of assessment issues in a no-nonsense way that most teachers will appreciate (just his thoughts on the role of large-scale standardized tests in school assessment are worth the price of the book). Yes, the book may be a little long at 500+ pages. But that is what it takes to provide a comprehensive and thorough treatment of the many topics he addresses. There are dozens of great ideas about assessment in this book, not just 3 or 4. Yes, the book may be less exciting or less entertaining than a Tom Clancy novel. But teachers who are concerned about assessment in their classroom are not looking for a page-turning action novel. They want a book that helps them provide more efficient and effective instruction. They want a book that shows them how to communicate meaningful assessment results to students, parents, and school administrators. They want a book that suggests ways to overcome the barriers to quality assessement and reduce the assessment workload that teachers all to often take home with them at the end of the day. This book delivers all that and more. It is a good book for seasoned teachers who continue to fight the battle for a sane approach to assessement in their schools, and it is a must-have reference for all new teachers. I am a former classroom teacher with a masters in curriculum and instruction, and I'm finishing a PhD in instructional technology. So I've taken a lot of research and evaluation classes, and I've been exposed to a lot of different texts on assessement. This is one of the best texts I've seen for those teachers in the trenches who want their classroom assessments to really benefit the students, and not just be some form of grade justification.

Rating:
Summary: Too long a book for too few ideas
Review: If you've got LOTS of extra time on your hands, this book would be a good use of your time. If you're short on time like most teachers, look to other books for information on assessment. Perhaps with a book club approach, it might be worth it.