"Game-Based Assessments: A Promising Way to Create Idiographic Perspectives" (Adrienne Walker and George Englehard) comments on: "How Task Features Impact Evidence from Assessments Embedded in Simulations and Games" by Russell G. Almond, Yoon Jeon Kim, Gertrudes Velasquez, and Valerie J. Shute. Here, Walker and Englehard write…

The REL Mid-Atlantic Webinar discussed the elements in a positive school climate and shared different methods for assessing school data, including the Comprehensive School Climate Inventory. The Q&A presented in this document address the questions participants had for Dr. Cohen following the webinar. The webinar recording and PowerPoint…

In this article, the author explores what Assessing Pupils' Progress (APP) is about. He contends that the predilection for testing is a catastrophe as far as the teaching and learning of mathematics is concerned; it is an outcome of the drive for collecting so-called "data" on pupils. What those people, who should know better, either choose to…

Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count is a national initiative dedicated to the premise that community colleges should be as successful at student retention and graduation, particularly for students of color and low-income, as they are at enrollment. On campus, the initiative is focused on creating a culture of evidence, one in which data…

This brief report cites the grade of "poor" given to the United States educational system on the third of the six National Education Goals proposed by the President and the Governors in 1990 of demonstrating student competency in key subject areas and preparing students for responsible citizenship. Results on math competency tests as…

Discusses four complementary interventions required for principals to improve classroom visits: Provide clear, grade-specific curriculum proficiency targets; develop results-oriented, teacher team-planned curriculum units; adopt Japanese lesson study approach to teaching; and use data to improve teaching and learning. (PKP)

A Web site can be the unifying force among schools with in a district. Many approaches work. Anyone who examines a few school district Web sites will appreciate the variation in content and design each provides. For example, Des Moines Iowa Public Schools, a district in which many in the community speak a second language, provides Web content in…

The model of performance indicators for educational assessment in Portugal includes context; physical, human, technological, and financial resources; functions; and results. Indicators need to partake of the information systems in schools whereby teachers and administrators gain a better understanding of their own processes and planning…

The societal role of education accountability programs is mainly to see that schools and teachers provide excellent instruction to help kids learn better. The school's educators should collectively determine what kinds of credible evidence, other than No Child Left Behind (NCLB) test scores, could help provide an accurate and honest picture of…

In redesigning the data program of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), there is a need for standard definitions, constant vigilance against redundancy and excessive data collection, audits and verification on local school data and continued attention to equity results as well as excellence and achievement. Major test scores, such…

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), in its expansion of data reporting, should consider approaches for studying the curricular content of elementary and secondary instruction and student achievement of curricular goals. More specific information is needed about the curricular content of U.S. education. For example, data collected…

Addresses two questions: (1) Why are there not more defensible studies proving that middle-level programs, practices, and policies work?; and (2) Does the middle school work? Argues that middle-level research is ahead of research in other levels during similar time frames and proposes a model to address the impact of middle schools. (SD)

Discusses considerations in designing an institutional assessment program (i.e., relevance to mission, potential audiences, potential uses, acceptable data/evidence, analysis/interpretation, and logistics). Includes a worksheet to judge inclusion of assessment data for accreditation. (DMM)

Reviews relevant scholarly literature on hypermedia from two perspectives: (1) an analysis of hypermedia in terms of learning theory; and (2) the implications of several characteristics of hypermedia for instructional designers, including its impact on learner control, concept development, and collection of data on student performance. Research…

This testimony by the co-director of the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University, Christopher Edley, examines the U.S. Department of Education's (DOE's) early implementation efforts regarding the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 (NCLB), recommending actions that the DOE should take to ensure that states, districts, and schools understand and…