Developing Judgment: Assessing Children's Work in Mathematics

"This book would be a valuable guide for any group of teachers who wish to set up a study group to analyze and improve their mathematics assessment practices. . . . The professional development benefits that teachers can gain through ongoing discussions with colleagues would make it well worth the time to set up a study group using ideas in this book."
- Teaching Children Mathematics

This book represents the next tier of work teachers will be doing in applying alternative assessment to mathematics in their classrooms. It is a resource book for developing professional judgment, crafted around examples of student work in mathematics along with guided interpretations of the work.

The best way to develop expert judgment is to do two tasks in tandem: analyze student work according to performance indicators; and practice the art of applying professional judgment in reflective collaboration with your colleagues. "Developing Judgment" is a guided journey through both tasks. It derives from a series of sessions in which a project study group of elementary teachers and their principals built an understanding of good classroom assessment practices through ongoing discussions of children's mathematical work.

The sessions in the book parallel those undertaken by the project study group. Each deals with a major idea involved in judging student work and how that idea plays out in instruction, curriculum, and assessment. Session elements include: background information; goals and a recommended sequence; suggestions for conducting the session on your own; excerpts from the project study group's conversations; the author's reflections on those conversations; and ideas for additionalopportunities to practice the assessment techniques discussed.

Whether you use "Developing Judgment" on your own, with one or two colleagues, or with a study group, it is certain to invite action and reflection.