Research planned to improve understanding of conative educational processes and outcomes is described. Over the past year, literature reviews have been conducted aimed at defining categories of assessment of student persistence, freedom from distraction, engagement, and other school-and-work related attitudes and motivations, both as learning…

A classroom/lab-based graduate telecommunications course was studied to discover implications for online instruction of related topics and skills. The analysis focused on: (1) examining the potential for teaching telecommunications via an Internet-mediated virtual classroom to public school personnel situated at their home districts; and (2)…

This proceedings reports on a 2-day conference which was the culminating event of a study on ways in which to better integrate the liberal arts with teacher preparation. The papers in this volume represent a cross-section of the growing body of knowledge surrounding portfolios and teacher education. The strongest conclusions drawn from the…

Assessment is a cornerstone of the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990 (KERA), and development of appropriate assessments for grades 4, 8, and 12 has been a major focus of KERA implementation. This paper explores the development of performance events, portfolio assessments, and open-ended questions, with an emphasis on open-ended questions and…

The effects of performance assessments on student learning were examined in a year-long project to help teachers in 13 third-grade classrooms begin to use performance assessments as part of regular instruction in reading and mathematics. The essential research question was whether students learned more or developed qualitatively different…

Not since the development of the objective paper and pencil test early in the century has an assessment method hit the American educational scene with such force as has performance assessment methodology in the 1990s. Performance assessment relies on teacher observation and professional judgment to draw inferences about student achievement.…

This study examined the effects of individual differences, attitudes, past performances, and teaching behaviors on 286 undergraduate college students' achievement, attribution, affective, and motivational outcomes. The study was conducted at the University of Manitoba using a theoretical model based on Weiner's theory of achievement motivation.…

Recent trends in writing skill assessment suggest a movement toward the use of free-response writing tasks and away from the traditional multiple-choice test. A number of national examinations, including major college admissions tests, have included free-response components. Most of the arguments in support of this trend relate to the hypothesized…

Research indicates that the goals and evaluative standards held by young children are influenced by developmental factors and the classroom context. This study investigated the goals held by first grade students as they undertake classroom activities and the criteria by which they evaluate their work. The larger purpose was to explore the…

As portfolios gain currency as an assessment alternative to report cards and transcripts, many schools are beginning to use them to get a more accurate idea of students' capabilities. The Exhibitions Project at the Coalition of Essential Schools (Brown University) is developing a way to address problems associated with large-scale use of…

This report describes alternative assessments in vocational education, reviews examples from extended case studies, and discusses criteria to use to choose among assessment alternatives. Chapter 1 is an introduction that contains brief summaries of each of the six assessment alternatives to familiarize the reader with the range of the sample and…

In recent years, public dissatisfaction with education has led educators, citizens, and policymakers to consider creating a national system of standards and assessments. This dissatisfaction resulted in movement to establish national standards and assessments in U.S. education. These standards are designed to raise the achievement levels of all…

This paper places Kentucky's accountability program in the national context, and then describes how educators in four rural Kentucky school districts reacted to the program in the initial years of its implementation. The information is drawn from a qualitative study of the implementation of the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) in these four…

What occurs when male and female teachers violate accepted conventions of the writing classroom by assuming untraditional roles? Numerous studies have shown that when people exhibit behavior contrary to the normal gender-based expectations, the results are less than positive. For the college professor who does not act according to the usual…

Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) monitors the South's education reforms through "Benchmarks" reports, tracking progress toward 12 goals for elementary, secondary, and higher education that were endorsed by the SREB in 1988. The board collects state-by-state data every 2 years and compares how states are doing on over 60 different…