Promoting K-12 Civic Learning and Engagement Through Assessment by Hamilton, Laura S.; Rikoon, Samuel H.; Kidd, David;

Short description:

Assessment to Promote K-12 Civic Learning and Engagement is a comprehensive guide to the assessment and opportunity of civic learning in primary and secondary education contexts. 

Long description:

Promoting K-12 Civic Learning and Engagement Through Assessment is a comprehensive guide to the assessment and opportunity of civic learning in primary and secondary education contexts. Today’s schools have a responsibility to teach learners how to critically evaluate information, understand the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, and engage with people whose perspectives and experiences differ from their own. This book provides a vision for testing, measurement, and assessment efforts that support this broad vision of equitable civic learning for all students.

The first section sets the stage for the rest of the volume by exploring historical, conceptual, and technological foundations of civic learning and assessment. The second section explores approaches to monitoring school-based civic learning opportunities and outcomes at the system level. It examines necessary innovations in large-scale assessment in order to generate high-quality data on a range of civic opportunities and outcomes. The third and final section presents work on assessment tools and strategies that directly support educators, students, and communities in cultivating meaningful civic engagement.

Scholars, teaching faculty, and graduate students of educational measurement, leadership, and policy, in addition to professionals in the assessment development field and other nonprofits who are invested in fostering civic competencies among learners, will find an innovative resource to inform their work.

Table of Contents:

1. The Role of Assessment in Advancing Civic Learning in K-12 Schools Section 1: Setting the Stage: The Civic Assessment Landscape 2. Cultures and Contexts of Civics Education and Assessment in the US 3. Advancing the Future of Civic Learning and Engagement Through Assessment: How AI Might Power Innovation in What and How We Measure 4. Mapping Civic Measurement: Assessing Readiness and Opportunities for an Engaged Citizenry Section 2: Assessment for Large-scale Monitoring of Civic Learning Outcomes and Opportunities 5. Understanding Civic Learning and Engagement Through Large-Scale Assessments 6. Measuring Civic and Citizenship Education Through Large-Scale Assessments: Insights from the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) 7. Building the Backpack: Replicating State Standards Review and Assessment Processes in Civics Education 8. Assessing Student Engagement in a U.S. History and Civics Curriculum 9. Measuring Civic Values to Assess Civic Identity Development in Adolescents 10. Defining and Monitoring K-12 Civic Learning Opportunities in the United States 11. Can Discrete-choice Measures and Situational-judgment Tests Address Ongoing Questions about how to Quantify Global Citizenship? Section 3: Assessment to Foster Civic Learning Opportunities in the Classroom and Beyond 12. Assessing Digital Literacy as a Civic Skill in K-12 Classrooms 13. Reasoning with Content: Complex Scenarios as Performance Assessments 14. Developing Civic Competencies through Scenario-Based Learning and Assessment Tasks 15. Exploring Implications of Transformative SEL for Civic Measurement in Diverse K-12 School Communities 16. CIRCLE’s Civic Data Tool: Connecting Practitioners with Measures and Data for Impact