The move toward assessments that measure student growth, rather than just proficiency, has been perceived as an improvement in state accountability systems. However, Michael Watson explains that, for many students, these measures present an incomplete picture. Because they are based on grade-level assessments, any growth achieved by students who…

In 2016, the federal government proposed and adopted the Every Student Succeeds Act, which retracted the federal government's prior control over states' teacher evaluation systems, permitting more local control. Kevin Close, Audrey Amrein-Beardsley, and Clarin Collins collected information from states to determine the degree to which states were…

Each fall the author assigns undergraduate teacher education students to design rubrics that they can use to evaluate auditions for reality television shows like "American Idol." The point is to draw students into a critical reflection on assessment literature and practices they have been studying. Through these reflections, the author…

Sex education in middle and high school health classes is critically important because it frequently comprises the primary mechanism for conveying information about sexual health to adolescents. Deliver evidence-based information on HIV and pregnancy prevention practices and they will be less likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors, the theory…

A group of teachers at Clifford Smart Middle School in Michigan's Walled Lake Consolidated School District have broken free from traditional grading in order to embrace a more meaningful grading practice. Using standards-based grading practices, they believe their grading now accurately communicates to students and parents the student's mastery…

Looks at past evaluation of compensatory education, suggests new approaches to evaluation, and makes recommendations about program implementation. (IRT)

Hawaii's experiment with the 3 on 2 plan in which three teachers are assigned to two classes has been judged not worth the cost because students in the program do not do any better on math and reading tests than do students in regular classrooms. (IRT)

This article describes 10 lessons learned from two decades of new teacher induction. These include: (1) A new teacher induction program requires a systemwide commitment to teacher development; (2) Induction programs accelerate new teacher effectiveness; (3) Standards-based formative assessment tools document impact; (4) Induction programs build a…

Educational researchers have paid little attention to "critique"--an activity young artists routinely use to assess and advance their creative projects. It is an activity from which they have a lot to learn, particularly in the context of community-based arts collaboratives. In school classrooms where teachers emphasize group projects…

The judicial evaluation approach adapts and modifies certain concepts from both jury trials and administrative hearings in the field of law and relies on the law's acceptance of human testimony to clarify and, subsequently, to judge complex events. (Author)

The Indiana University experience should not be taken as "proof" that the judicial evaluation approach works or does not. The evidence is that this type of adversary proceeding needs improvement, that it holds great promise, and that the next attempt should tell us more. (Author/IRT)

Presents some of the characteristics of open education, discusses some of the difficulties in evaluating it, and offers recommendations to improve the classic approach to evaluation and to encourage the use of methods outside the classic approach. (IRT)

For too long teachers have been forced into a defensive posture, protecting their professionalism and their students' learning from the accountability hawks who know little about teaching and learning, the author asserts. In this article, the author details how Nebraska educators have turned the tables on accountability by placing utmost…

Outlines problems with the U. S. Office of Education sponsored report on Project Follow Through. The problems are in the areas of classification of models, measurement techniques, methods of analysis, and fairness. (Author/IRT)

Many of us have an intuitive understanding of physics that works surprisingly well to guide everyday action, but we would not attempt to send a rocket to the moon with it. Unfortunately, the authors argue, our policy makers are not as cautious when it comes to basing our school accountability system on intuitive test theory. Intuitive physics…