Summarizes two trends in teacher education: using performance-based portfolios for assessment, instruction, and professional development and transforming computers from complicated instruments to universally available tools that facilitate tasks involving knowledge access and processing. The article explores connections between the two trends and…

Describes a 5th-year teacher education program created by social foundations faculty in partnership with inner city schools, arguing that as state and national movements favor broader performance-based standards over social foundations, social foundations faculty cannot rely on state regulations to safeguard their courses. The partnership…

A scoring algorithm for performance assessments is described that is based on expert judgments but requires the rating of only a sample of performances. A regression-based policy capturing procedure was implemented for clinicians evaluating skills of 280 medical students. Results demonstrate the usefulness of the algorithm. (SLD)

Surveyed stakeholder groups in the New Zealand university system to determine each groups' criteria for measuring university library performance. Compared responses of resource allocators, senior library staff, other library staff, academic staff, and graduate and undergraduate students, and found that the groups have different perspectives on…

Examines principles of computer-based instructional design found in performance improvement/human resources development literature and their applicability to adult learning in the workplace. Topics include learner control, feedback, screen design, use of group methods, and computer anxiety. Contains 93 references. (JMV)

Three different differential item functioning (DIF) detection methods were used to examine the extent to which items in a mathematics performance assessment functioned differently for matched gender groups from a sample of 1,782 sixth and seventh graders. Implications of the finding that two items were potentially biased are discussed. (SLD)

Discusses practitioners' doubts about the value of theory in counseling. The relationship between theory and practice is a sensitive one in the debate on competencies, and an illuminating one in that on postmodernism. Practice is improvisational, and is refined by frameworks provided by theory, critical thinking, and "reflective…

A New American High School, David Douglas High School (Portland, Oregon), has a mentor program for freshmen and sophomores, who take career interest inventory tests and research career areas through job shadowing experiences. Juniors and seniors participate in work-based experiences, prepare portfolios, and take personal enrichment courses. All…

This article describes a gifted program that identified students after entry into the program. Students are judged suitable for gifted education after having had opportunities to develop and exhibit behaviors within a gifted classroom. The result has been student opportunities and achievements that span the chasm between excellence and equity.…

A longitudinal study examined effects of social influences on 557 middle school students with learning disabilities and 8,392 typical students. Having a learning disability was associated with consistent, mostly negative, effects on social relations. Student perceptions of friendship groups had small, but significant, effects on their growth in…

Compares the ratings assigned to audio and videotaped vibrato performances of inexperienced and experienced violinists and violists. Rated the performances on five vibrato factors: width, speed, evenness, pitch stability, and overall sound. Although the experienced players were consistently rated higher, the results suggested that visual cues may…

Analyzes data from a longitudinal study of high school youth to suggest that involvement in sports often has a strong and positive association with young womens' success in high school science. Associates participation in cheerleading with negative results. Summarizes both the functionalist and conflict theories regarding the purpose of sports.…

In "The Manufactured Crisis," D. Berliner and B. Biddle argue that there has been no decline in achievement test scores, that today's students outperform their parents and do well in international examinations, and that the supposed crisis in American education does not exist. This review refutes all these claims. (SLD)

In their arguments that there is actually no crisis in American education and that students are achieving more than previous generations, David Berliner and Bruce Biddle have ignored or dismissed extensive data on student achievement that demonstrate the failings of the American system. (SLD)

Describes the achievement of Israeli fourth and eight graders on the performance assessment of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). The Israeli educational system has stressed practical tasks, and as expected, performance of Israeli students on the TIMSS performance assessment is quite high. (SLD)