Everything School Leaders Need to Know About Assessment - Softcover

W. James Popham, professor emeritus at University of California Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, has spent the bulk of his educational career as a teacher. His first teaching assignment, for example, was in a small eastern Oregon high school where he taught English and social studies while serving as yearbook advisor, class sponsor, and unpaid tennis coach. That recompense meshed ideally with the quality of his coaching.

Most of Dr. Popham′s teaching career took place at UCLA where, for nearly 30 years, he taught courses in instructional methods for prospective teachers as well as courses in evaluation and measurement for graduate students. At UCLA he won several distinguished teaching awards. In January 2000, he was recognized by UCLA Today as one of UCLA’s top 20 professors of the 20th century. (He notes that the 20th century was a full-length century, unlike the current abbreviated one.) In 1992, he took early retirement from UCLA upon learning that emeritus professors received free parking.

Because at UCLA he was acutely aware of the perishability of professors who failed to publish, he spent his non-teaching hours affixing words to paper. The result: 30 books, 200 journal articles, 50 research reports, and 175 papers presented before research societies. Although not noted in his official vita, while at UCLA he also authored 1,426 grocery lists.

His most recent books are Classroom Assessment: What Teachers Need to Know, 6th Ed. (2010) and Assessment for Educational Leaders (2006), Allyn & Bacon; The Truth About Testing (2001), Test Better, Teach Better (2003), Transformative Assessment (2008) and Instruction that Measures Up (2009) ASCD; America’s “Failing” Schools (2005) and Mastering Assessment (2006), Routledge; and Unlearned Lessons (2009) Harvard Education Press. He encourages purchase of these books because he regards their semi-annual royalties as psychologically reassuring.

In 1978, Dr. Popham was elected to the presidency of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). He was also the founding editor of Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, a quarterly journal published by AERA. A Fellow of the Association, he has attended each year′s AERA meeting since his first in 1958. He is inordinately compulsive.

In 1968, Dr. Popham established IOX Assessment Associates, an R&D group that formerly created statewide student achievement tests for a dozen states. He has personally passed all of those tests, largely because of his unlimited access to the tests’ answer keys.

In 2002 the National Council on Measurement in Education presented him with its Award for Career Contributions to Educational Measurement. In 2006 he was awarded a Certificate of Recognition by the National Association of Test Directors. In 2009, he was appointed to be a board member of the National Assessment Governing Board. Dr. Popham’s complete 44-page, single-spaced vita can be requested. It is really dull reading.
School Leadership Briefing Interview

“Finally we have a book written on educational assessment that is easy to understand and keeps the reader engaged and focused on the topic. The author provides practical and useful information for both school administrators and classroom teachers. This book demystifies educational assessment to help educators better meet the needs of students by understanding how assessment relates to good classroom instruction.” -- Kenneth Arndt, Superintendent Published On: 2009-11-10

“The book is definitely needed and makes a distinct contribution to the field, especially for school leaders. The author asks thought-provoking questions and challenges the reader to follow through with staff.” -- Marie Blum, Superintendent Published On: 2009-11-10

"Given the current climate of accountability in our nation, superintendents’ toolboxes should include a solid understanding of the many forms of assessment. This book offers a practical discussion and explanation of educational assessment concepts and procedures that affect a school or district’s outcomes. Of great help to the busy administrator is Popham’s set of crucial understandings in each chapter that detail the essential ideas. The chapter titled ′Top 20 Crucial Understandings about Educational Assessment′ reviews all the critical content and serves as a refresher on topics of importance." -- The School Administrator, April 2011 Published On: 2011-04-01

“The writing style is great! Popham writes in such a way that one feels that he is speaking directly to you. The interspersing of humor―mostly in language and terms used―contributes very positively to the content, and the absence of educational jargon was so refreshing. The reader doesn’t feel overwhelmed.” -- Robert A. Frick, Superintendent Published On: 2009-11-10