We examined underlying mechanisms for comprehension differences across expository and narrative text while controlling for factors confounded in the extant literature. Fourth grade students (n=32) read both an expository and a narrative text, and completed both a local comprehension assessment, and a global retelling assessment for each text.…

This study considered middle school mathematics teachers use of rubrics to score non-traditional tasks. A group of eighth-grade teachers attended a two-day workshop where they evaluated assessment tasks and discussed the use of an associated scoring rubric. Scored samples of student work submitted by the teachers indicated that they had difficulty…

School vouchers, particularly since the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the Cleveland program, are one of the most contentious issues in American education. Seemingly contradictory results across available studies have caused confusion among diverse audiences. The authors suggest that these divergent findings are, in part, due to three…

The purpose of this issue of "New Directions for Evaluation" is to examine, comparatively, the practical application of theorists' approaches to evaluation by examining four evaluations of the same case. The thought is that when asked to evaluate the same program (holding the case constant), the practical distinctions between theorists' approaches…

The International E-Mail Directory of Health Educators (http://www.hedir.siu.edu), or HEDIR, is an electronic mailing list specifically developed to facilitate communication among health education professionals worldwide. The study objectives were to characterize the nature of HEDIR messages and assess how well HEDIR is meeting members'…

This study examined 49 student teachers' actions and perspectives when implementing a curricular innovation (the tactical games approach). Data were collected via videotaped lessons, interviews, and follow-up questionnaires. Questions for interviews and questionnaires were pilot tested and data were analyzed using the constant comparison method.…

As constructed-response items become an integral part of educational assessments, setting student performance standards on constructed-response items has become an important issue. Two standard-setting methods, one used for setting standards on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in reading in grade 8 and the other used to set…

Preliminary data was gathered to guide subsequent research that will shape training procedures and scoring practice for performance assessment activities that integrate multiple content areas. Content area integration is a key feature of many of the tasks in the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP), a large-scale assessment of…

A study was conducted to provide information for setting two separate standards, the accuracy score and the documentation score, for the Praxis III: Classroom Performance Assessment (Praxis III). Praxis III is intended for making instructional and licensing decisions about beginning teachers. This standard-setting study was a person-judgment…

This study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that items of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) containing reference to American people, places, customs, etc., tend to favor examinees who have spent some time living in the United States. Two samples of examinees were drawn from the March 1987 TOEFL administration, one tested in…

The Educational Testing Service is developing a new generation of teacher assessments--the Praxis Series: Professional Assessments for Beginning Teachers. The assessment series consists of three components. An academic skills component will assess the candidate's basic academic and enabling skills. Subject assessments will test the candidate's…

The design, administration, scoring, and results of the 1993 New York State Correctional Captain Examination are described. The examination was administered to 405 candidates. As in previous Sergeant and Lieutenant examinations, candidates also completed latent image written simulation problems and open/closed book multiple choice test components.…

The development and validation of the General Management In-Basket (GMIB) is described. The GMIB is a theory-based generic in-basket simulation, designed to assess supervisory and management skills independent of any job classification. Three of the 15 in-basket items in the GMIB are critical and are scored on a 0-5 scale. The remaining 12 items…

Earlier content analyses showed that the match between content covered by textbooks and tests varied as a function of the particular textbook and test a teacher was asked to use. This study tried to determine if the congruity in textbook-test content varied as a function of different styles of textbook use. Using year-long case studies of seven…

The investigation examined relationships among scales for observing and rating teacher performance. Beginning teachers with varying levels of professional experience (2, 9, and 16 months) were rated by pairs of observers on two occasions. Intercorrelations across occasions fell between .5 and .8. Interrater agreement ranged between .5 and .9.…