Brain-Friendly Assessments

Increase learning with effectively designed assessments based on neuroscience.Assessment and testing serve distinctly different purposes in education. Whereas testing gives teachers a snapshot of what each student knows at a given moment, assessment provides a way to continually monitor student progress and give feedback and support to increase learning. Brain-Friendly Assessments: What They Are and How to Use Them guides teachers on this journey as they work to determine what, whom, where, and how to assess. Bestselling author David A. Sousa empowers teachers with valuable research findings from educational neuroscience as he describes critical factors to consider when designing and selecting assessment techniques to accurately gauge how well students learn and retain information. In this book, Sousa explores clear, practical, effective ways to:Develop and administer assessments that are in the best interest of studentsDesign brain-friendly assessments to deepen students' understandingFairly assess all students, including English-language learners and those who are homeschooledEffectively designed assessments help improve student performance as well as qualities that standardized test scores alone cannot measure, such as creativity, curiosity, higher-order thinking, and collaboration. Brain-Friendly Assessments will help teachers impart these critical skills and traits to students to consistently foster long-term academic success.