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Purpose – To provide classroom teachers with an overview of a range of assessments that can be administered either individually or to a group.

Design/methodology/approach – The chapter is organized from early literacy skill assessments (both individual and group based) to comprehension and standardized tests.

Findings – Provides detailed information on skills required for each element of reading, design of assessment, intended purpose, and process of administration.

Research limitations/implications – This is not an exhaustive list, the authors strove to highlight the most reliable and practical assessments from a large body of possible choices.

Practical implications – This is a valuable source for classroom teachers who are provided with a wide-range of assessment choices covering the breadth of reading skills with extensive details on each.

Originality/value of paper – Teachers need a range of assessments to choose from to make decisions at the individual, class and school level.

The rapid introduction of new technology and the various needs for human resource development are changing the priorities for vocational and technical training. While the fundamental goals for training remain, emphasis is shifting from a focus on content delivery to a recognition of the importance of a systems approach. As a consequence, professionals involved with training are increasingly aware of the need for more rigour in the process by which training is developed, implemented and evaluated. The chief purpose of this monograph is to introduce training and other interested personnel to the Instructional Systems Development (ISD) approach. Collected in this one document is the essential information on the ISD process for the development and conduct of efficient and effective performance‐based training programmes. For those planning a new training programme, this logical and organised approach provides a road map. Furthermore, the procedural steps presented are useful when modifying and revising existing programmes. Instructional Systems Development methodology is presented in five phases: analyse, design, develop, implement and control.

Introduction Employers have often hired graduates of vocational training programmes based on their diplomas and certificates rather than on their capabilities. As a result, these employers do not frequently hold vocational education/training in the highest regard. Additionally, the profession itself is concerned about the discouraging outcomes of some vocational programmes. Employers, governing bodies and taxpayers are all insisting that vocational programmes become more accountable.

This chapter addresses assessment of students with disabilities. It begins with brief analyses of purposes of assessment, especially with regard to their uses in classrooms. Next, it discusses both formal and informal assessment techniques, focuses on performance-based assessment, authentic assessment, portfolios, self-assessment, response to intervention, and teacher evaluation and/or accountability. Embedded in these discussions are implications of assessments on students with disabilities.

In noting the human being′s propensity to value and evaluate, explores five levels of assessment from the casual to the very serious and rigorous. A distinction is made between management or normative appraisals and leadership or discretionary evaluations for organizational improvement and making a difference. The importance of rigorous assessment of the school by the school head or principal is underscored in the discussion of the why, what, and how of school evaluation for management and leadership by the head or principal.

Reading comprehension levels of elementary students have not significantly improved in the twenty-first century, and, as a result, the need for systematic and intensive reading interventions is as high as ever. Literacy clinics are an ideal setting for struggling readers to experience success through the implementation of a cyclical approach to individual assessment, planning, instruction and evaluation. Yet, additional research is needed to create current and relevant models of literacy clinics for today’s diverse learners. This paper aimed to measure the effects of an experimental approach to reading comprehension instruction for third graders within an off-campus literacy clinic; the intervention involved a scope and sequence of comprehension strategies in which students had to demonstrate skill mastery before progressing to the next skill.

This investigation used a classic controlled experiment design by randomly assigning half of the literacy clinic participants (30) to either a control or experimental group. The previous year-end’s Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) scores of the participants were used as indicators (or base lines) of each participant’s preexisting level of reading achievement.

There was a statistically higher achievement rate in the experimental group as measured by the CRCT statewide assessment with a Cohen’s effect size value (d = 0.79) suggested a moderate to high practical significance.

This study’s findings are relevant to those involved in literacy remediation, including literacy clinic directors, preservice educators and curriculum directors.

This paper is one of a kind in that it is the first to trial a scope and sequence of evidence-based comprehension strategies for comprehension improvement in primary school students. The findings call for major changes to thinking about how we improve students’ reading skills by focusing on depth rather than breadth.

Against a backdrop of high-stakes assessment policies in the USA, this paper explores the challenges, promises and the “state of the art” with regard to designing standardized achievement tests and educational assessment systems that are instructionally useful. Authors deliberate on the consequences of using inappropriately designed tests, and in particular tests that are insensitive to instruction, for teacher and/or school evaluation purposes.

The method used is a “moderated policy discussion”. The six invited commentaries represent voices of leading education scholars and measurement experts, juxtaposed against views of a prominent leader and nationally recognized teacher from two American education systems. The discussion is moderated with introductory and concluding remarks from the guest editor, and is excerpted from a recent blog published by Education Week. References and author biographies are presented at the end of the article.

In the education assessment profession, there is a promising movement toward more research and development on standardized assessment systems that are instructionally sensitive and useful for classroom teaching. However, the distinctions among different types of tests vis-à-vis their purposes are often unclear to policymakers, educators and other test users, leading to test misuses. The authors underscore issues related to validity, ethics and consequences when inappropriately designed tests are used in high-stakes policy contexts, offering recommendations for the design of instructionally sensitive tests and more comprehensive assessment systems that can serve a broader set of educational evaluation needs. As instructionally informative tests are developed and formalized, their psychometric quality and utility in school and teacher evaluation models must also be evaluated.

Featuring perspectives of scholars, measurement experts and educators “on the ground”, this article presents an open and balanced exchange of technical, applied and policy issues surrounding “instructionally sensitive” test design and use, along with other types of assessments needed to create comprehensive educational evaluation systems.

Today, more than ever, training programmes are being held accountable for providing the “work‐ready” graduates that employers want. Yet, after years of research and debate, there is still no consensus on the best course of action for achieving programme accountability. However, many see cause for optimism in an Instructional Systems Methodology for planning, developing, implementing and evaluating training programmes. This competency (performance)‐based systems approach ensures that trainees are taught the knowledge and skills essential for successful job performance.

This article discusses three important aspects of assessment within schools, namely, planning, testing and policy development. From the outset, emphasis is placed on the importance of planning for teaching and learning. It is argued that the development of assessment strategies at this stage is significant in terms of establishing clear learning outcomes for lessons taught. Some of the more widely used tests are also discussed in terms of how they might assist teachers to identify specific difficulties children may have with learning. The final section considers policy development in schools and suggests a possible framework for action. Throughout the article reference is made to recent research which supports the development of formative assessment strategies in the classroom context. It is concluded that planned assessment strategies have the potential for enhancing the quality of teaching and learning within the classroom.