This report presents a plan for an Educational Assessment and Accountability System for Hawaii. The purpose of this plan is to provide an analytical as well as a descriptive account of the condition of public education in Hawaii. It is meant to be a vehicle to provide the means by which educational outcomes can be examined in light of contextual…

This annotated bibliography contains nine items addressing assessment methodology. The titles are: "Performance and Product Evaluation"; "The Critical Incident Technique"; "Constructing Achievement Tests"; "Applying the Assessment Center Method"; "Performance Assessment in Education and Training:…

A study explored the nature and quality of teacher-developed assessment instruments. Teachers (n=228) from a range of grades, subjects, and school districts described patterns of test use, concerns about assessment, and use of performance assessment by completing an extensive questionnaire. The research was conducted to determine: (1) teachers'…

Students' essays are increasingly being included in the assessment of their writing ability. One scholar feels that in contrast to more traditional tests of writing ability, the Written Language Assessment bases its assessment on whole pieces of text the students write. The essays represent three different types of writing: expressive,…

In recent years, West Virginia high school students have improved their performance on the ACT exam and have been steadily approaching the national average on ACT composite scores. In 2001, the gap between West Virginia test-takers and the national average was eight-tenths of a point. As of 2005, the gap was at six-tenths of a point.…

The purpose of this report is to provide the theoretical rationale for the approach to academic language that was adopted to meet the research goals of the second phase of this project as well as to report on the results from the pilot training program that was developed to create the conditions under which varying levels of direct instruction in…

Background: Teacher education programs in the State of California are increasingly held accountable for the assessment of teacher candidates' competencies and performance. One salient assessment tool is the utilization of portfolios in teacher education programs (Wolf, 1989; 1991). Among the newest and most innovative templates of portfolios in…

This document contains Illinois Occupational Skill Standards for occupations in the Information Technology Operate Cluster (help desk support, computer maintenance and technical support technician, systems operator, application and computer support specialist, systems administrator, network administrator, and database administrator). The skill…

This book for teachers and administrators demonstrates how implementing contextual teaching and learning (CTL) at all levels can change students' lives and help them realize their full potential and achieve academic excellence. CTL is based on the philosophy that students learn when they see meaning in academic material, and they see meaning in…

The Ohio Department of Public Schools launched its Ohio Urban Schools Initiative as a commitment to systemic long-term change in the state's 24 urban districts. This report contains a framework that represents the initial phase of the Urban Schools Initiative, which developed into a collaborative effort among the school systems, state and local…

Ensuring that language tests for adult English language learners are appropriate, valid, and reliable is a challenge. Performance-based assessments are complex to develop and implement. Yet, because the focus of assessment, both in the National Reporting System for Adult Education (NRS) descriptors and in the Department of Education's definition…

Schools that become part of the "Making Middle Grades Work" network are expected to use the middle grades comprehensive improvement framework to show progress in changing school and classroom practices in ways that advance student achievement. True school reform is not a quick process. It is a continuous effort to make purposeful and planned…

This report reviews 75 high schools in the "High Schools that Work" (HSTW) network that made statistically significant gains in at least two of three areas reading, mathematics and science--between 2002 and 2004 on the "HSTW" Assessments. In these schools, all groups of students improved achievement--regardless of race, ethnicity or socioeconomic…

A study evaluated the Alabama Direct Assessment of Writing Program. The comprehensive evaluation examined the background literature, the psychometric characteristics, and the impact of the writing assessment both quantitatively and qualitatively. Results indicated that: (1) the majority of fifth- and seventh-grade students in Alabama do not…

Assessing literacy strategies through collected works, reading logs, journal writings, other language activities, and informal testing, this book provides preservice teachers a firm grounding in the theory of literacy portfolios as part of authentic assessment strategies and provides guidelines of creating and using literacy portfolios…