publications

Books: Assessing Student Performance: Exploring the Purpose and Limits of Testing by Grant P. Wiggins, 1993. Published by Jossey-Bass, Inc., San Francisco, CA (www.josseybass.com) Grant Wiggins clarifies the limits of testing in an assessment system and makes his case that school based assessments should improve student performance, not just audit. This book points the way toward new procedures for assessment that more closely examine students' habits of mind and provide teachers and policy makers with more useful and credible feedback. Educative Assessment: Designing Assessments to Inform and Improve Student Performance by Grant Wiggins, 1993. Published by Jossey-Bass, Inc., San Francisco, CA (www.josseybass.com) Grant Wiggins presents a rationale for learning-centered assessment in our schools and furnishes an overview of the tools, techniques, and issues that educators would be wise to consider as they design and use assessments focused on learner needs. Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, 1998. Published by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), Alexandria, VA (www.ascd.org) In this book (and the companion handbook, below) Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe pragmatically discuss the importance of clear learning goals and the thoughtful alignment of goals, assessments, and learning activities. Introducing the idea of "backward design," Wiggins and McTighe familiarize educators with the ideas and materials that will enable them to create effective and engaging units of instruction. This book is the winner of the 1999 EdPress Distinguished Achievement Award. The Understanding by Design Handbook by Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins, 1999. Published by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), Alexandria, VA (www.ascd.org) This companion to the text is a practical guide to the logic of backward design. It includes a unit planning template, worksheets, exercises, design tools, design standards and tests, and a peer review process for learning and applying the ideas in Understanding by Design. Understanding by Design Professional Development Workbook by Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe: 2004 published by Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), Alexandria, VA. UbD Professional Development Workbook extends the ideas presented in Understanding by Design (UbD) by focusing on professional development and the practical matters of curriculum design. The workbook is a guide for UbD workshops and undergraduate and graduate courses, as well as further independent explorations. It provides a valuable resource to educators in developing curricula and assessments with a focus on developing and deepening students' understanding of important ideas (http://shop.ascd.org)