Is it possible to keep assessments authentic and meaningful, and still satisfy district mandates to focus on tests? In Making Assessment Elementary, Kathleen and James Strickland prove that it is and provide lots of ideas for making assessment an enriching, informative process for teachers and students alike. Filled with classroom suggestions, Making Assessment Elementaryreflects what the Stricklands have learned working with countless educators and students. In addition to the eight chapters outlining the "hows" and the "whys" of assessment, their book contains almost fifty reproducible forms that can be put to immediate use. An accompanying CD-ROM features all of these classroom assessment forms as well as numerous variations for different grade levels. In writing Making Assessment Elementary, the Stricklands kept returning to elementary classrooms to collaborate with talented teachers and students. Above all, their book is a collection of stories gathered from conferences, inservices, classroom visits, and even Internet discussion forums - stories told by teachers from Oak Park, California, to Greenville, Pennsylvania, from Nevada to Missouri and Georgia. What the Stricklands have learned about assessment and evaluation invites teachers to move forward and change the way they teach - so that through assessment the children in our classrooms inform our instruction and reflect on their own learning. According to the Stricklands, "Such changes can't help but breathe life into our teaching, making our own learning exciting and challenging." Readers will find Making Assessment Elementarymore than a reference book; it is a point from which to proceed, grounded in the belief that good teachers use such resources to enhance their expertise and reflection.