The overall assessment of teacher education students by means of testing may not be the best indicator of competence in a professional field. Assessors must possess both valid and reliable ways of discerning which students have the necessary skills to be effective in the classroom. Portfolio analysis is one way to get better, more valid data about…

Alternative assessment not only offers the opportunity to assess what students know, it also can more fully engage students in their own learning. When properly implemented, alternative assessment has the potential to: be a useful classroom tool, stimulate student participation; form a communication bridge with parents; and measure specific types…

In an effort to prevent substance use and abuse by children and adolescents, the California Drug, Alcohol, and Tobacco Education (DATE) Program was initiated in 1991. This report evaluates the program from perspectives of school district personnel, and students, generating an explanation of the "whats" and "hows" of drug…

This manual presents the trainee's workbook and the trainer's guidelines for the third of six modules in a teacher inservice series developed to promote the unified effort of both regular and special education personnel in understanding and applying nationally recognized practices to implement fully inclusive education for student with diverse…

This report presents a systematic review of the literacy services of the Vancouver Public Library (British Columbia), both to determine if those activities met the needs and expectations of local adult learners and to see if those activities compared favorably with general standards and with other libraries' literacy services. Data was collected…

The Performance-Based Accountability Program was enacted by the North Carolina General Assembly in 1989 as part of the School Improvement and Accountability Act. This report addresses five components of the program and includes appendixes that provide detailed data for several of the components. The Flexible Funding Provision is made for the…

This guide provides information about how middle schools can promote the development and education of adolescents, especially about how they can focus students' attention on career opportunities and training. It also offers families some ideas about how they can encourage their children's career awareness, and it presents some criteria for parents…

The purpose of this study was to determine if preservice teachers, during their student teaching experiences, were utilizing the strategies they had learned in university methods courses, and if these strategies were being modeled by the supervising teachers. Responses were obtained from 31 preservice elementary teachers. Students responded to…

This study was part of a larger study investigating the influence of group collaboration during a group assessment on performance of the group and subsequent widespread performances. This study compared the verbal interactions of students while they completed a science assessment in small collaborative groups with their performance on the same…

This collection of articles summarizes what mental health professionals have learned about evaluating and treating infants and young children who have been exposed to violence in their homes and communities. Emphasis is on recognizing symptoms and behaviors demonstrated by very young children who have been exposed to violence, supporting…

Intended for either the general educator or the specialist, this text offers principles and teaching strategies for teaching students with visual impairments including both blind students and those with low vision. The book is organized into three sections: "Vision,""Learning," and "Testing and Transitions." The four chapters in the "Vision"…

This report documents the results of a survey on the current use and management of approval plans, and compares them with similar studies published in SPEC kits in 1982 and 1988. Overall, Association of Research Libraries (ARL) institutions still consider approval plans to be efficient and cost effective. Survey results include: (1) the percentage…

A collection of essays addresses issues in alternative assessment in English as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction. Chapter 1, "Toward a Definition of Alternative Assessment," (Priscilla Butler) gives an overview of the concept of alternative assessment and introduces some theoretical considerations. Chapter 2, "The Roots of…

Effective classroom simulations can provide opportunities for end-users to analyze human teaching and learning behaviors and can also help prepare teachers for real-world experiences. This paper proposes a simulation project based on an aggregation of ideas associated with knowledge-based simulations, behavior observations, visualization, and the…

This paper addresses issues in assessment of college students, outcome studies, and attrition research in the context of trends toward requiring greater accountability from institutions of higher education. First the paper considers how assessment, student outcomes studies, and attrition research terminology might be more clearly defined. It…