A desire to raise student achievement levels is leading many educators and parents to work for restructuring and reforming U.S. schools. One of the many areas in which this effort is proving to be complex is the question of changing college admission criteria to respond to the changes in curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment that are occurring at…

This paper describes a framework for authentic instruction and assessment for the New York state alternative program of integrated mathematics, science, and technology (MST). The paper includes the rationale for the assessment framework, description of tasks, students' work, and suggested evaluation scheme. The MST framework consists of seven…

Rural counties are among both the most and the least ethnically diverse, conditions that offer different but equally compelling rationales for multicultural education. Diverse communities need to acknowledge their cultural wealth, creating community structures that respect differences and build on the strengths of each culture. Homogeneous…

In 1991 the School District of Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) invited elementary and middle schools to participate in a pilot project to develop and implement portfolio and performance-based assessments. Twenty-five schools began work in winter 1992. Research for Better Schools, Inc. analyzed the progress reports submitted by the schools. The…

In 1992, the Leon County School District in Tallahassee (Florida) began a review process to select a new norm-referenced test. The selection process was efficient and functional, and may be of interest to other school districts. Consideration was given to a variety of sources through the following process steps: (1) establish the norm-referenced…

This report describes a pilot program of the New South Wales (Australia) Department of Education to develop community transition teams as part of an effort to provide transition education to people with disabilities. The project is based on a model developed in Oregon and stresses assisting each community to work cooperatively to assess local…

The management enhancement team approach (META) is a team-driven management development program designed for managers within Australia's National Vocational Education and Training Sector (NVETS). META, which has been piloted at more than 70 sites across Australia, is designed to identify and address management development needs within the context…

The One-Room-Drop-In-School (ORDIS) emerged as one of Tennessee's dropout prevention program innovations. A pilot ORDIS was started in Nashville (Tennessee), in a high density housing project where concentrations of poverty and illiteracy usually exist. A five-bedroom apartment in the housing project was set up as a school. A certified teacher,…

A meta-assessment is provided of 15 pilot projects aimed at demonstrating how student outcomes of various kinds can be used to assess the effectiveness of general education and baccalaureate degree programs. The Student Outcomes Assessment projects funded by Academic Program Improvement grants of the California state university system, have…

Straight Talk about Risks (STAR) is a pre-kindergarten through grade 12 curriculum designed to reduce the potential for children and teens to be injured or killed in gunfire. STAR is based on sound prevention practices developed from a pilot project in Dade County (Florida). The flexible format allows activities to fit into a 3-week classroom unit…

The extent to which competency-based instruction (CBI) has been implemented in postsecondary-level vocational-technical education programs and courses throughout Texas was assessed. Questionnaires were mailed to the occupational education deans/directors of 69 public community and technical college campuses. Each dean/director distributed the…

A statewide assessment process was designed and pilot tested to determine the extent to which competency-based instruction (CBI) has been implemented in vocational-technical education programs and courses in all public community and technical colleges in Texas. The final report consists of two volumes. Volume I contains the rationale…

This report describes the development and evaluation of mathematics activities manuals for grades K-8, correlated with the Tennessee state mathematics curriculum. Seventeen elementary teachers and seven secondary teachers met during January-June 1989 to write draft versions of the manuals and demonstrate activity-based mathematics and…

Initial efforts to validate a developmentally appropriate assessment system for use with children aged 3 to 7 years are described. The Project Construct Assessment System is part of a comprehensive framework for curriculum and assessment that is predicated on the theory that children construct their own knowledge. It features a variety of…

This study examined the separate and joint use of high school course grades, course work taken, and American College Testing Program (ACT) Assessment subject area scores for making course placement decisions. The data for this study were obtained from nine institutions through their participation in a pilot study of the ACT Course Placement…