ABSTRACT
In the previous chapter, we discussed the structure of teachers’ decisions and the role that assessment does, can, and, in fact, should play in teacher decision making. In this chapter, we address three critical questions concerning assessment as it pertains to teachers’ decision making. First, why do teachers assess students? After listing a few obvious answers, we move on to the more interesting ones. Second, what do teachers assess? In chapter 1, it was suggested that teachers base most of their decisions about students on information they gather about the students’ classroom behavior, effort, and achievement. In this chapter, we explore each of these in greater detail. Third, when should teachers assess their students? In answering this question, we differentiate between decisions about learning and decisions about teaching, suggesting once again that the timing of assessment depends primarily on the decision being made. This chapter contains three major sections, one dealing with each of these questions.
