Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Curriculum and Assessment is the first volume of a new series International Perspectives on Curriculum. This edited book examines the relationship between curriculum, pedagogy and assessment, and, as with subsequent volumes, adopts a cross-sector and comparative approach. Contributors make reference to a number of important debates in the fields of curriculum and assessment: summative versus formative assessment; differentiation versus inclusion; psychometric versus holistic theorising; decontextualised versus contextualised assessment; symbol-processing versus situated learning approaches; integrated versus connected assessment; and high stakes versus low stakes assessment. The rationale for this volume is not to reach an agreement about assessment and curriculum frameworks, but to air the various debates referred to above and develop new frameworks for understanding these important issues.

This volume and the series is timely as administrators and policy-makers in different parts of the world have taken an increased interest in education, and as moves to centralise curriculum provision have gathered pace. This has in some cases driven a wedge between curriculum theory and curriculum practice, as policy-makers have developed and implemented proposals without referring to academic debates about these issues. It therefore is an important task to reassert the need to discuss and debate the curriculum in a critical manner before implementation occurs. This volume sets about that task, addressing policy-makers, administrators, teachers and the research community.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Series Foreword (p. vii)
• Chapter 1 Introduction (p. 1)
• Chapter 2 Formative Assessment and Curriculum Consequences (p. 7)
• Chapter 3 Differentiation and Assessment (p. 25)
• Chapter 4 Pupil Assessment and Classroom Culture: A Comparative Study of the Language of Assessment in England and France (p. 41)
• Chapter 5 Portfolio Assessment in Teacher Education (p. 63)
• Chapter 6 Examination Techniques: Issues of Validity and Effects on Pupils' Performance (p. 83)
• Chapter 7 Professional Doctorates and Assessment Issues (p. 105)
• Chapter 8 Scottish Perspectives on the Curriculum and Assessment (p. 119)
• Chapter 9 Conceptual Frameworks to Accommodate the Validation of Rapidly Changing Requirements for Assessments (p. 143)
• Chapter 10 An Overview of the Relationship Between Assessment and the Curriculum (p. 165)
• Index (p. 183)
• About the Editor and Contributors (p. 187)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

This collection of papers succeeds in making a wide-ranging contribution to the ongoing debate in academia on the relationship between curriculum and assessment. There are detailed examinations of types of assessment as applied in different educational contexts. Chapters 5, 6, and 7 in turn look at assessment in the context of portfolios in teacher assessment, United Kingdom examination systems, and professional doctorates. The volume also examines issues peculiar to countries and cultures and compares approaches across them. Chapter 4 compares pupil assessment in England and France, while chapter 8 gives Scottish perspectives on curriculum and assessment. The final chapter reviews the different conceptual frameworks used to accommodate new requirements for assessment. Still, difficult dilemmas remain. How, for example, do you serve students of differing abilities with the same curriculum? Mary Simpson proposes an innovative plan for teacher-student partnering in assessment. Furthermore, only "authentic" tasks tap into the domain of knowledge being assessed, but these tasks take a long time when administered in a test at the end. The closing chapter revisits the formative-summative debate by suggesting that such assessment be incorporated in the curriculum and be done by teachers. Recommended for graduate students, researchers, and professionals. G. H. Alexander Florida Gulf Coast University

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Paul Black is Professor Emeritus of King's College London, United Kingdom
Patricia Broadfoot is currently Professor of Education in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Bristol, United Kingdom
Jannette Elwood is Professor of Education at the Graduate School of Education, Queen's University of Belfast, United Kingdom
Wynne Harlen was director of the Scottish Council for Research in Education until May 1999 and is now visiting Professor at the University of Bristol
Val Klenowski is a Senior Lecturer in the Curriculum Studies Academic Group, Institute of Education, University of London, United Kingdom
Ingrid Lunt is a Reader in the Culture, Communications and Society Academic Group, Institute of Education, University of London, United Kingdom.
Anthony J. Nitko is Adjunct Professor, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Arizona, and Professor Emeritus and former Chairperson of the Department of Psychology in Education at the University of Pittsburgh.
Marilyn Osborn is Senior Research Fellow in Education in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Bristol, United Kingdom.
Claire Planel is a Research Associate in the School of Education, University of Bristol, United Kingdom.
David Scott is a Senior Lecturer in the Centre for Curriculum and Teaching Studies at the Open University in the United Kingdom
Keith Sharpe has worked at the University of Bristol, United Kingdom, and has published in the fields of assessment and comparative education
Mary Simpson has recently been appointed to the Chair of Classroom Learning at Edinburgh University, United Kingdom.
Dylan Wiliam is Head of the School of Education and Professor of Educational Assessment at King's College London, United Kingdom.