Introduction
Assessment in mathematics has traditionally involved giving students an
end-of-unit test and then simply moving on to the next lesson. But to in-
clude all students in meaningful mathematics, assessment must be continu-
ous and linked with teaching. In this way, teachers can address the learning
needs of their struggling students and help them make sense of the mathe-
matics along with the rest of the class. Assessment in the context of these
essays and videos refers to an ongoing process of planning accommodations
and anticipating where students may have difficulties, observing students in
class and posing questions to elicit information about their understanding,
analyzing their written and oral work, and planning next steps.
In some cases, these teachers do find that more traditional assessment meas-
ures, such as end-of-unit tests or interview protocols, can provide them with ad-
ditional insights into their students’ strengths and weaknesses. On the other
hand, the mathematics tests required for an Individualized Educational Program
(IEP) are not likely to give a full picture of students’ knowledge. These tests are
developed in isolation from the general education curriculum and generally fo-
cus solely on students’ deficits. They do not provide a window into students’
thinking or give teachers information on their repertoire of strategies (Nolet and
McLaughlin 2005). Often there is a disconnect between the instruments used
in the IEP process or required achievement tests, and National Council of
Teachers of Mathematics standards-based math instruction. The teachers in
these essays do not rely on this kind of test to plan their mathematics instruc-
tion. Instead, they trust that all of their students are able to learn, and they