Feedback matters for everyone committed to school improvement. Rather than tweaking flawed assessment tools, it is time to consider developing more meaningful feedback systems the impact the critical masses that make up the school community. Cultivating new assessment approaches for students, staff, as well as non-instructional staff, teacher-leaders, principals, superintendents, trustees and grant/philanthropic funders, can lead to remarkable change. The goal of learning for students should not be separate or secondary to performing well on standardized tests. Implementing feedback systems that engage and prompt critical and creative thinking should matter more in todays schools. Assessment tools that explicitly align with expectations not only create a fair playing field, but they can enhance deep learning.Assessment Tools and Systems:Meaningful Feedback Approaches to Promote Critical and Creative Thinkingpresents a comprehensive compilation of constructive assessment choices grounded in educational research that emerged through 60 years of experiences as a student, teacher, principal, teacher educator, consultant, school founder, school trustee and educational philanthropist.

Barbara J. Smith is an innovative educator who has been involved in education for over four decades as a teacher, principal, teacher educator, school founder, and board member in public, international, independent and charter schools. As a curriculum and school designer focused on critical and creative thinking, Smith is committed to improving feedback tools and systems in schools around the world.

Acknowledgements

Introduction: Assessment: A Dogs Breakfast

1Look Up

2Truncated Testing

3Reporting Reform

4Classroom Grading

5Portfolios, Experiential Learning& Micro-credentials

6Top Togs

7Underdogs

8Teacher Feedback and Performance Reviews

9Growth of School Leadership

10Feedback and Professional Reviews for Non-Instructional School Staff

11Who Assesses the Watch Dogs?

12Goodwill Hunting

13Assessment Whisperers

14Sounds of Silence

15Forging New Paths for School Assessment

References