Forms of assessment that are consistent with outcomes based education are discussed. Assessment in service to learning must inform students about their learning, provide data for teachers who plan instruction, inform parents about student progress, and provide data for policymakers. Chapter 1 of this document is "The Implications of…

Conventional approaches to teaching and learning perpetrate lies about the nature of knowledge, self-worth, and growth. Working with Foxfire and authentic assessment can offer teachers an opportunity to discover emancipating truths. These approaches demonstrate the value of students' growth in their own competence and in their self-direction. The…

The framework and results of a study exploring the effects of alternative assessment on mathematics teaching are reported. The instrument for the observation of alternative assessment in the classroom, based on the processes defined by P. L. Peterson (1988), is described along with a discussion of the methodology and the data implications.…

The National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL) is addressing problems of evaluation of family literacy programs through portfolio assessment. Beginning in fall 1991, 15 programs began using portfolios to document parent-child interactions. This guide provides a description of the introduction of portfolio assessment into these programs and…

Intended to help students from language-minority backgrounds develop literacy in English, this book identifies and answers the major questions surrounding reading instruction for English as a second language (ESL) students. Specifically, the book reviews and synthesizes what is known about background issues related to the education of ESL…

This document is part of a series of guides for teachers in which the Division of Bilingual Education of the New York City Board of Education presents a learner-centered model in which the learner sees himself or herself in the story. Learners are able to relive their own experiences or those of their parents or grandparents as they left their own…

Supports the idea that second language teachers should "teach the test," provided that such tests meet the criteria of authentic assessment. Authentic assessment focuses on constructivist learning and communicative tasks; the integration of teaching, learning, and assessment; quality and coverage of content; and quality and fairness of standards.…

Contends that an interdisciplinary curriculum and cooperative learning are well suited to middle school students. Asserts that the approaches help students learn higher order thinking skills and improve social skills. Maintains that authentic or performance-based assessment is appropriate for these techniques and this age group. (CFR)

Asserts that thoughtful assessment of student achievement can illustrate student growth to parents, administrators, and non-music teacher colleagues. Recommends incorporating student assessment into instruction by adapting common music activities so that teachers can observe and record student performance during normal instructional time. (CFR)

Describes the selection and implementation of an authentic assessment model for evaluating students' science laboratory knowledge and skills. Provides sample problems and a scoring form for the performance-based science laboratory test. (MDH)

Performance assessment with young children evolves naturally from activity-oriented teaching. Presents several guidelines for putting performance assessment methods into practice. (PR)

The study assesses the effects of a hypertext learning aid and GPA on performance in advanced financial accounting. Results indicate that the type of learning aid and GPA significantly affect performance. High GPA students performed better than did the low GPA students. In the study, two versions of the hypertext learning aid were utilized by two…

In powerful learning environments, rich contexts and authentic tasks are presented to pupils. Active, autonomous and co-operative learning is stimulated, and the curriculum is adapted to the needs and capabilities of individual pupils. In this study, the characteristics of learning environments and the contribution of ICT to learning environments…

As a result of the pressures of educational reform and high-stakes assessment, some schools run the risk of foregoing active, student-centered learning activities for building test-taking skills and the memorization of discrete facts (Gredler, 1999; Jackson & Davis, 2000). Coupled with the additional pressure to fulfill the expectations of…

Although past research indicates that giving brief quizzes, administered either regularly or randomly, may lead to improvement in students' performance on major exams, negligible research has targeted daily writing activities that require the processing of course information at a deeper level than might result from simply reading course materials…