Formative Assessment Delivery System (FADS)

University Of California-Berkeley, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Abstract

This project uses new psychometric techniques to create a technological tool that could evaluate how well students in the 4th-8th mathematics and science classrooms respond to complex performance tasks. It will extend a research direction begun many years ago on classroom assessment initiated by the investigator. The purpose of this tool is to improve the instruction of teachers in mathematics and science. It will produce real-time individualized diagnoses of instructional needs to help teachers plan instruction that specifically addresses the learning needs of each student in that class. Wilson has been working on related techniques for a number of years and in this project will work with two experimental curricula, the IQWST science curriculum from the University of Michigan and Northwestern University, and the CDMW data analysis project from Vanderbilt University.