The Assessment Playbook for Distance and Blended Learning: Measuring Student Learning in Any Setting

Design assessments that measure and target student learning in both face-to-face and distance learning environments Assessments are the essential link between teaching and learning, yet the assessments used in face-to-face classrooms are not always practical or impactful in remote learning environments. Now that teachers are teaching from a distance, how will you assess what your students have learned?   Tapping the expertise of teachers who are successfully engaged in distance learning, The Assessment Playbook for Distance and Blended Learning answers that question. Rich with a wide range of examples, strategies, and assessments that can be leveraged with rigor and fidelity regardless of learning environment, this practical playbook empowers teachers with the decision-making tools needed to gauge the impact of instructional strategies in today’s rapidly evolving educational landscape. It features • “Assessment cookies,” or insights that endure in any distance or hybrid learning environment and can be used to inform assessment decisions, including the understanding that “everything is searchable.”  • A robust “playlist” of distance learning assessment tools—including universal response, teach-back opportunities, composing, taking action, self-assessment, and peer assessment—that teachers can mix and deploy to match every learning intention.  • Information on how to evaluate the impact of your teaching on student learning—and how assessment can guide your teaching moves • Characteristics of formal tools of evaluation, such as tests, longer essays, and performance tasks that teachers can use in distance learning environments to document learning for reporting purposes.  Designed properly, assessments implemented through the lens of distance and hybrid learning can yield significant impact for student achievement, both in the pandemic teaching of today, and in the educational contexts of the future.   

Table of Contents:
List of Videos Letter From the Authors Introduction Chapter 1: ASSESSMENT COOKIES Assessment Cookie 1: Assessment Is Difficult Because It Is Important Assessment Cookie 2: Assessments Come in All Shapes and Sizes Assessment Cookie 3: Know the Learner and Their Learning Journey Assessment Cookie 4: Assess That Which Has Been Taught and Teach Based on the Standards Assessment Cookie 5: Students Deserve to Know What They Should Be Learning Assessment Cookie 6: Knowing Your Destination Helps Assessment Cookie 7: Everything Is Searchable, So Plan Accordingly Assessment Cookie 8: Parents Want to Help and Sometimes It’s Problematic Chapter 2: THE PLAYLISTS Playlist 1: Assessment Through Universal Response Playlist 2: Teach-Back Playlist 3: Assessment Through Composing Playlist 4: Self- and Peer Assessment Chapter 3: ASSESSMENT UPGRADES Upgrade 1: Performance Assessments Upgrade 2: Ipsative Assessments Upgrade 3: Confirmative Assessments Upgrade 4: Think Like an Evaluator References Index About the Authors

About the Author :
Douglas Fisher, Ph.D., is professor and chair of educational leadership at San Diego State University and a leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. Previously, Doug was an early intervention teacher and elementary school educator. He is the recipient of an International Reading Association William S. Grey citation of merit and an Exemplary Leader award from the Conference on English Leadership of NCTE. He has published numerous articles on teaching and learning as well as books such as The Teacher Clarity Playbook, PLC+, Visible Learning for Literacy, Comprehension: The Skill, Will, and Thrill of Reading, How Tutoring Works, and How Learning Works. Doug loves being an educator and hopes to share that passion with others.    Nancy Frey, Ph.D., is a Professor in Educational Leadership at San Diego State and a teacher leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. She is a member of the International Literacy Association’s Literacy Research Panel. Her published titles include Visible Learning in Literacy, This Is Balanced Literacy, Removing Labels, and Rebound. Nancy is a credentialed special educator, reading specialist, and administrator in California and learns from teachers and students every day. Vince Bustamante, M.Ed., is a Calgary-based instructional coach, curriculum content developer, and author. Formerly focused on school improvement, Vince now specializes in working with teachers, leadership teams, schools, and school districts in implementing high impact strategies and systems. With a strong background in assessment and deep learning experiences, he is passionate about understanding and evaluating teachers' impact. Vince holds a Master of Education degree and has co-authored two bestselling books with Corwin Press: Great Teaching by Design and The Assessment Playbook for Distance and Blended Learning. He can be found on Twitter under the handle @Vincebusta. John Hattie, Ph.D., is an award-winning education researcher and best-selling author with nearly 30 years of  experience examining what works best in student learning and achievement. His research, better known as Visible Learning, is a culmination of nearly 30 years synthesizing more than 1,700 meta-analyses comprising more than 100,000 studies involving over 300 million students around the world. He has presented and keynoted in over 350 international conferences and has received numerous recognitions for his contributions to education. His notable publications include Visible Learning, Visible Learning for Teachers, Visible Learning and the Science of How We Learn, Visible Learning for Mathematics, Grades K-12, and 10 Mindframes for Visible Learning.