In this chapter, we examine ways teachers can more accurately assess student learning and thereby make judgments about the effectiveness of their own instruction. We begin by defining instructional assessment and underscoring its importance in effective teaching. Next, we examine several factors that influence the quality of assessments, and then we look at the principal types of assessment. The next sections then deal respectively with standardized tests and testing and with teacher-made assessments and test construction. In the final section, we discuss systems for grading student performance and ways to effectively and fairly assign grades.
