November 1999 New Bibliography Updates Assessment Listings
Educators searching for tools to assess their students’ higher-order thinking skills will find help in the Bibliography of Assessment Alternatives: Higher-Order Thinking Skills. Part of NWREL’s Innovative Assessment series, the bibliography updates the original 1993 edition by adding a number of recent key works. The bibliography’s 40 entries include descriptions of different assessment instruments and related articles, which are intended to stimulate thinking and spark ideas.Among the listings are:
Educators in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington can borrow the articles and instruments described in the bibliography free for three weeks from the NWREL Assessment Resource Library. Users in other states will be charged a handling fee. For more information, contact Matthew Whitaker by phone at (503) 275-9582 or 1-800-547-6339, ext. 582, or by e-mail at arl@nwrel.org. When inquiring about specific entries, please be sure to refer to the call number (AL#) following the description.
- Critical Thinking Assessment (1993), by Robert H. Ennis. (AL#050.6CRITHA) This article is designed to provide educators and researchers with a quick overview of critical thinking assessment issues. It provides a succinct definition of critical thinking, discusses various purposes for assessment, considers potential problems, lists some available tests, and suggests how readers can develop their own critical thinking assessment tools.
- A Guide to Authentic Instruction and Assessment: Vision, Standards, and Scoring (1995), by Fred M. Newmann, Walter G. Secada, and Gary G. Wehlage. (AL#050.3GUIAUI) Deemed a "must read" by reviewers in NWREL’s Assessment and Evaluation Program, this document considers "authenticity" as essential for fostering the development of well-developed thinking. The authors outline three key components of authenticity; seven standards for student tasks that will result in authenticity; and four "intellectual quality" standards. A useful appendix includes scoring guides for assessing the intellectual quality of instruction, tasks given students, and student responses to tasks.
- Silver Drawing Test of Cognition and Emotion, Third Edition, Revised (1996), by Rawley A. Silver. (AL#050.3SILDRT3) For K-12 teachers interested in assessing the thinking skills of language-impaired students, the author suggests using the Silver Drawing Test to measure cognitive abilities. The test consists of three tasks: predictive drawing, drawing from observation, and drawing from imagination. The theoretical underpinnings of the approach are outlined; a discussion of the validity and reliability of this approach is included; and correlations between the test and other standardized tests are presented. Scored student work samples are also provided, which attempt to measure the skills of prediction, observation, and imagination.
- Researching and Developing the Knowledge Base for Teaching Higher Order Thinking (1993), by Melva Underbakke, Jean M. Borg, and Donovan Peterson. (AL#050.5RESDEK) This article presents five task types teachers can use for teaching and assessing higher-order thinking skills: hypothesizing and testing, evaluating arguments, solving interpersonal problems, probabilistic thinking, and developing and maintaining flexibility and student awareness. Practical suggestions for integrating higher-order thinking skill development into classroom practice are also provided.
To order a copy of the Bibliography of Assessment Alternatives: Higher-Order Thinking Skills, please see the Document Order Form.
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