- Helps schools choose the best systems for assessing outcomes and pinpointing methods that aren't working -- goals that are more important than ever in light of No Child Left Behind's focus on improving school performance and implementing statewide accountability systems.
- Covers timely topics in literacy instruction -- teaching English language learners, expanding professional development opportunities, improving education for students with learning disabilities, and more.
The best way to pinpoint what works and doesn't work in reading instruction is classroom observation -- and this text will help educational stakeholders choose from available observation systems or design their own system. Each of the nine field-tested systems discussed has a different focus, such as assessing the effectiveness of early reading instruction for English language learners, assessing and improving the writing performance of students who struggle, and reviewing school-wide literacy outcomes and determining professional development needs. Each chapter explores the system's development; details its field testing, reliability, and validity; examines its strengths and limitations; and may include the actual tool discussed. With this invaluable book, researchers, teachers, and decision-makers will explore observational systems that give them the best possible understanding of which approaches to reading instruction are working -- and what kind of work still needs to be done.
