The relationship between assessment and instruction preferences of undergraduate students was examined as well as the extent to which the combined set of preferences differentiates among four groups of students defined by their levels of test anxiety and learning strategies (high in both, low in both or high in one and low in the other). The…

To reveal what is being learned during the gaming experience, this report proposes an approach for embedding assessments in immersive games, drawing on recent advances in assessment design. Key to this approach are formative assessment to guide instructional experiences and evidence-centered design to systematically analyze the assessment argument…

This booklet analyzes the concept of competence in education and explores the background of this increasingly popular form of assessment. It focuses on the role of competence in four countries the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and South Africa and defines what is meant by competence. The report states that competence-based…

Direct assessment is a multifaceted assessment paradigm for the diagnosis and planning of remediation for learning difficulties. Its process is experimental in nature and includes testing-the-limits and trial teaching techniques. Its content includes behavior checklists, classroom observation systems for reading and instruction, and informal…

Discusses values ascribed to performance assessment and recent criticisms of assessment and suggests model-based performance assessment for remedying and avoiding these criticisms. The paper explains the merits of a systematic approach to developing performance assessments and rubrics based on general models across ages and subject areas for…

Defines "measurement" and "evaluation" and applies the definitions to the concepts of performance and performance improvement. Discusses challenges in using measurement in evaluation and performance improvement. Proposes a research agenda for measuring performance and its improvement. (AEF)

In this article, the author evaluates the policy choices sanctioned by state systems of performance-based accountability. She notes how first-generation models of educational accountability were mainly bureaucratic and regulatory in nature and how the accountability movement of the 1970s and 1980s evidenced a shift from an emphasis on rules to a…

Based on Penn State's popular "Innovation Insights" series, this book brings together in one handy reference nearly a decade of tried and true insights into continuous quality improvements in higher education. Their five-step model for integrating planning, assessment, and improvement moves plans off the shelf and into the weekly and daily…

This conference paper describes an assessment model used by the graduate degree program at St. Mary College (Kansas). The degree program provides a cross-specialization in education, management, and psychology. Qualitative/Action Research for Authentic Assessment is a method for assessing students at completion of degree which provides an…

Fit analysis is widely performed in item response theory (IRT) based test development to assess the fit of individual items to the IRT model being used. The paper explores a step fit analysis procedure that is an extension of IRT-based item fit diagnostics applied to the response categories present in popular performance-based tasks. The step fit…

A practicum addressed the problem of a lack of continuity and consistency in the evaluation of students' papers in grades 6-12. A cohesive, systematic writing evaluation model was designed and implemented for grades 6-12. Teachers, administrators, students, and community members collaborated in the development and implementation of the writing…

Describes how two methodologies for analyzing and improving performance--performance engineering and organization mapping--were used in a case study involving the purchasing department of an electric utility. Highlights include the establishment of a model of the desired results, measuring existing performance, and the designing of an improvement…

This case study describes what performance-based instruction looks like when committed teachers implement it in the classroom. The focus is elementary mathematics. A literature review revealed five aspects of performance-based classrooms: (1) epistemology; (2) curriculum orientation; (3) assessment paradigm; (4) instructional strategies; and (5)…

A support staff evaluation model is presented that incorporates existing evaluation theory into a system design, with educational specialists in mind. The six-step model includes needs assessment/identification, relationship of program expectations to job responsibilities, identification of staff behaviors, setting of performance standards,…

An example application of portfolio assessment was developed and the model and estimates of reliability derived from the literature were then used to estimate the characteristics of an operational large-scale portfolio assessment program. Costs were estimated to put results in a realistic context. (SLD)