ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the use of effective assessment measures in determining a student's abilities and academic potential. It discusses strategies that can be used by education professionals to develop assessments of the future and focuses the assessment on what matters most—student learning. The chapter determines the success of K-12 systems in the United States through graduation rates and through college acceptance and graduation numbers. Assessments of K-12 students are state developed and mandated at this point, but there is still plenty of federal oversight. Assessments throughout the K-12 journey are necessary, but how those assessments are administered is one of the most hotly contested issues surrounding the K-12 system today. The problems with Common Core standards and their accompanying assessments lie below the surface, and reflect the larger problems with K-12 testing in America. More teachers and administrators are recognizing that a fuller grasp of critical-thinking processes is necessary to improve K-12 classrooms and the next generation of adults.
