This paper describes a randomised controlled trial conducted with 10 secondary schools in England to evaluate the impact and feasibility of Fresh Start as an intervention to help new entrants with low prior literacy. Fresh Start is a synthetic phonics programme for small groups of pupils, here implemented three times per week over 22 weeks. The…

This exploratory study of elementary school science examines questions central to policy, practice and research on formative assessment: What is the quality of teachers' content-pedagogical and assessment knowledge? What is the relationship between teacher knowledge and assessment practice? What is the relationship between teacher knowledge,…

Classroom assessment techniques (CATs) are teaching strategies that provide formative assessments of student learning. It has been argued that the use of CATs enhances and improves student learning. Although the various types of CATs have been extensively documented and qualitatively studied, there appears to be little quantitative research…

Meta assessment goes beyond assessment in that it examines not only the elements of assessment but also the necessary and sufficient conditions as well as the needs of the assessment. Meta assessment in education tends to be the domain of course designers, planners and policy makers but rarely that of students. This article examines the role of…

To investigate whether games may serve as useful formative assessment environments, this study examined, experimentally, the effects of two aspects of formative assessment on math achievement, game play, and help-seeking behaviors: (a) making assessment criteria explicit through the explanation of scoring rules and (b) incentivizing the use of…

This guide is designed as a resource for leaders and evaluators of K-12 online learning programs. In this guide, the term "online learning" is used to refer to a range of education programs and resources in the K-12 arena, including distance learning courses offered by universities, private providers, or teachers at other schools;…

The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to indicate some of the major weaknesses in the design and approaches to compensatory education programs, and (2) to recommend a more appropriate evaluational design. The second purpose deals specifically with a recommended evaluational procedure; i.e., the discussion centers around an account of what…

The purpose of this research was to develop and field test a new flowchart model prescribing specific operations for tryout and revision of prototype multi-media self-instructional treatments. The methods and results of the following four phases of the study are described: (1) design of a MK I flowchart model based on a review of the literature;…