Overview

In this issue . . .

Perspectives / Blind Data
Marge Scherer

How Classroom Assessments Improve Learning
Thomas R. Guskey
The assessments most likely to improve student achievement are those that teachers create.

A Reader's Guide to Scientifically Based Research
Robert E. Slavin
What makes one research study more valid than another?

Lessons from Research That Changed Education
Gordon Cawelti
Great research, like great art, needs room for new approaches.

First Things First: Demystifying Data Analysis
Mike Schmoker
Setting a limited number of simple, specific improvement goals is the way to begin.

No Schools Left Behind
Victoria L. Bernhardt
A primer for schools attempting to analyze the data they collect.

A Research Report / The Effects of High-Stakes Testing on Student Motivation and Learning
Audrey L. Amrein and David C. Berliner
Having a high-stakes test does not mean that a state can expect its students to do well on other measures of achievement. In addition, such tests can stifle student motivation to learn.

The Power of Testing
Matthew Gandal and Laura McGiffert
Why educators should embrace tests that are tools for transforming teaching and learning.

The Dangers of Testing
Monty Neill
Why educators should repudiate tests that narrow the curriculum and dumb down instruction.

The Seductive Allure of Data
W. James Popham
In the quest for assessment sanity, which kinds of data should we spurn? Which should we respect?

Backward Design for Forward Action
Jay McTighe and Ronald S. Thomas
Here is a framework for using standards and essential questions to plan both curriculum and school improvement.

Using Data: Two Wrongs and a Right
Robert J. Marzano
How schools can avoid common mistakes in building their school improvement plans.

Data Warehousing: Beyond Disaggregation
Lawrence M. Rudner and Carol Boston
A well-organized data archive allows a wide range of analyses using both cross-sectional and longitudinal data.

A Tale of Two Schools' Data
Beverly A. Parsons
Connecting instruction, professional development, and student learning makes all the difference between successful and unsuccessful data use.

Using Data to Differentiate Instruction
Kay Brimijoin, Ede Marquissee, and Carol Ann Tomlinson
Collecting data from students is key to shaping effective instruction.

Departments

Research Link / A Global Perspective on Student Accountability
John H. Holloway

The Shrink in the Classroom / Mental Health Specialists in Schools
Steven C. Schlozman

Reviews

Letters

EL Themes for 2003–2004

ASCD Community in Action