Explores some aspects of the debate surrounding teacher assessment and raises questions about what is missing in so-called authentic assessments of teachers. Some proposed assessments may actually reinscribe narrow teaching practices that do not serve children of color and children living in poverty well. (Author/SLD)

Identified school change in reading achievement on a statewide, high-stakes performance assessment. Meta-analyses of the effects of instructional practices in reading on achievement indicated that reading achievement change was directly associated with the characteristics of the school reading program in higher grades. Effects of instructional…

This article describes what is known about ways in which middle and secondary school educators have improved curricula, instruction, and assessment practices and reorganized to achieve increased collaboration and responsiveness for all students' needs. It describes seven prominently used instructional strategies and four reorganization strategies…

Physical educators seek to provide an educational setting in which students develop knowledge and motor skills for lifelong learning. As more emphasis is placed on healthy lifestyles, teaching motor skills becomes only a part of their job as physical educators. In this article, the author details a few assessments in target archery that stimulate…

Many students fail to integrate biological knowledge into larger conceptual frameworks. Although textbooks and lectures in general biology courses emphasize major concepts, when students respond to questions, they often appear to be randomly grasping at disconnected sound bites of biological knowledge. The knowledge they have accumulated does not…

One of the benefits of performance based assessment is its allowance for the teacher to gather information about how the student understands and applies knowledge. In this Digest, the basic steps a teacher should take to plan and execute effective performance-based assessment are outlined. Coverage includes the steps of planning and executing…

This book illustrates how problem-based learning (PBL) can enliven curriculum and lesson planning by encouraging students to play a more central role in their own learning process. It provides a framework for efficiently and effectively teaching problem-solving skills, tapping children's interests and previous knowledge, and making the curriculum…

This book uses an extended case study to guide readers through the complexities of evaluating service learning outcomes and their relevance to the curriculum. Eight chapters include: (1) "What Is Service Learning?" (e.g., definition and rationale, developing a service learning program, and standards for effective programs); (2) "The…

Proposes a novel methodology that employs Bayesian network software to assist teachers in efficiently deriving and utilizing the student model of activity performance from Web portfolios online. This system contains Web portfolios that record in detail students' learning activities, peer interaction, and knowledge progress. (AEF)

Describes a performance-based task, within real-life contexts structured specifically for a ninth grade English-as-a-Foreign-Language class. The task--a book project--was used as an alternative assessment of the acquisition and application of English studies as a foreign language in Israeli schools. (Author/VWL)

Presents a lesson plan and performance assessment for teaching about Korea. Explains that the lesson teaches history by giving students interesting problems to work on using the facts they discover about the country. Discusses preparation and research, performance assessment, and writing assessment on whether the two Koreas will unify. (DK)

Narrates how the Hupobi Heritage Project involved Pueblo Indian youth in the interpretation of their cultural heritage for non-Native Americans. Explains how the information was presented through multimedia. (HB)

Notes that the curriculum standards under development by the National Council for the Social Studies incorporate authentic learning assessment tasks and suggest ways that civic participation experiences can be included and the subsequent learning assessed. Discusses instruction and assessment opportunities involving citizenship education. (RS)

Discusses research on middle school science learning and instruction that suggests how generative models of scientific phenomena can be developed. The Computer as Learning Partner curriculum is introduced as a curriculum that provides a firm foundation for lifelong learning through the use of authentic questions. (SLD)

Assessment for learning involves the frequent, continual use of both formal and informal classroom assessments. It can be as simple as requiring students to respond to a lesson-embedded, one-item quiz as a way of gauging student understanding of what is being taught. Ideally, this innovative approach to classroom assessment is based on a careful…