Ontario's Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) is an independent agency, answerable to the public, created in 1995 in response to input from educators, policymakers, parents, students, and citizens to do large-scale assessments and give objective and informed recommendations for educational improvements. Gives EQAO core values and 10…

To assess student achievement, states use a variety of accountability tools including school report cards, effectiveness scores, and school rankings. Responses from all 50 state departments of education showed that 19 states rank schools on their effectiveness as part of the state's accountability system. Three states use test scores alone for…

Expounds that "The Geography Discipline Network Guides on Teaching, Learning, and Assessment" that were produced by the English Geography Discipline Network are a worthwhile addition to the efforts to promote geographic literacy. Maintains that there are deficiencies since the guides aim only at individual lecturers and instructors of geography.…

Assessed effects of Head Start and Head Start plus Family Empowerment Transitioning Programming for family risk and child developmental outcomes. Analyzed change in parent-centered, child-centered, and family economic risk and progress in personal-social, adaptive, motor, communication, and cognitive skills. Found that, overall, both programming…

This article discusses the increased pressure that states are under to include test scores of students with disabilities obtained under nonapproved accommodation conditions in their accountability systems. It recommends Individualized Education Program teams carefully consider the use of nonapproved accommodations and consider the purpose and use…

Discusses a study of students in a college study skills course who self-reported procrastination in three critical tasks: studying for exams, writing term papers, and keeping up with weekly reading. Reports that procrastination scores were positively correlated with number of perceived barriers to academic success, including problems with time…

Discusses the benefits tutors gain from the tutoring experience, some of which--deemed "silent benefits"--include personal and professional growth, and even significant changes in future careers. Examines effects of tutoring job on three outstanding tutors, all of whom speak English as a second language. (NB)

This article discusses the need for the right person to ask the right questions of the right people in the right place and time to evaluate special education services for ethnically diverse groups. These requirements are discussed in the context of research evaluating services for Maori children in New Zealand. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

This paper is based on an observational study concerning the effectiveness of elementary education. It was conducted in a rural area near Alotau, the provincial capital of the Milne Bay Province, with a special focus on the Maiwala Elementary School. In this paper, the author first briefly describes what elementary education is and how it has been…

The purpose of the study was twofold: (a) to examine a teacher's perceptions of attempting to implement assessments aligned with the NASPE standards and (b) to examine students' perceptions of assessment in physical education. Participants were 46 4th grade students and their physical education teacher. Data were collected through a Likert-scale…

Educational assessment is more than measurement, rubrics, and grades. Its real focus needs to be on learning. Art educators need to pay attention to the assessment of daily learning as well. Everyday assessment of classroom learning is crucial because it provides feedback directly to students in the process of their learning, more than mere…

In this paper we examine the discursive resources that year 4 and year 8 students draw on to construct meanings for health. Drawing on students' responses to tasks in the New Zealand National Monitoring Project (Crooks & Flockton, "Health & Physical Education", University of Otago Educational Assessment Research Unit, 1999) we…

Over the last 20 years, writing about technology (and more recently about its use in assessment systems) has been a joyful experience, in part because the author was usually right about how fast and how unexpected technology progress would be made. In this article, the author suggests to rethink assessment systems from design perspectives and the…

In the early 1990s, states began establishing standards in academic subjects backed by test-based accountability systems to see that the standards were met. Incentives were implemented for schools and students based on pupil test scores. These early accountability systems paved the way for passage of landmark federal legislation, the No Child Left…

Outcomes assessment and continuous improvement are essential elements of educational programs. Emphasis on assessment is based primarily upon the requirements of accrediting agencies, but also on the perceived value of assessment in satisfying the demands for accountability in an increasingly competitive environment. Educational research has shown…