Monitoring, evaluation, and quality assurance in their various forms are seen as being one of the foundation stones of high-quality education systems. De Grauwe, writing about "school supervision" in four African countries in 2001, linked the decline in the quality of basic education to the cut in resources for supervision and support.…

This comprehensive guide to alternative, authentic assessment in early childhood education provides discussions of the most current research and practical ways to integrate assessments into teaching. It shows assessment as a process that teachers can use in their own classrooms, using the latest procedures, such as portfolios, standards,…

Five categories of data collection are recommended for monitoring the quality of education: (1) outcomes, based on an input-output model, including data from student testing and credentials and degrees; (2) participation--who is served by education; (3) resources available to education; (4) long-term impact of education on work, income,…

Identifies situations in which there is disparity between coefficients calculated from aggregate versus individual level data. Determines the magnitudes of these discrepancies, and discusses the implications for test score reporting and policy decisions based in whole or in part on the aggregate level relationships and discrepancies identified.…

This book is a guide to understanding and implementing portfolio assessment in schools and contains checklists, forms, sample letters, rubrics, and inventories. The chapters are: (1) "Defining a Portfolio"; (2) "Evolving Nature of Portfolios"; (3) "Getting Started"; (4) "Clarifying the Role of Self-Assessment"; (5) "Choosing from Multiple Sources…

Discusses which kinds of data educators should respect and which they should reject. Asserts that most state accountability tests fail to produce the kinds of data that will improve teaching and learning. Teachers can get the data they need from their own instructionally useful classroom assessments. (WFA)

This report discusses the many issues that need to be considered as states and districts begin to design and implement alternate assessments, which are used for students with severe cognitive delays or multiple disabilities or students who require such significant accommodations that the validity of the test would be compromised. The report…

This document is a guide to the use of alternative assessments (surveys, interviews, observation measures, and performance samples) in a family literacy project. This resource guide focuses on using alternative approaches to identify learners' needs, determine learners' ongoing progress in meeting project objectives, ascertain overall success of…

This paper gives an overview of the methods of moderation, or quality assurance and quality control, as they may be more widely known, that are used to enhance the quality of student assessment. The discussion is based on the educational systems of the United Kingdom but is applicable to assessment in other countries. Quality in assessment is seen…