Describes how elementary teachers can design appropriate religion units that lead to authentic assessments. Explains how to design units of religion instruction using Thomas Groome's Shared Christian Praxis, combining it with the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1994) and the religion outcomes articulated by National Catholic Education…

John Gardner reflects on everything from current efforts to improve the first-year experience to the assessment movement, student expectations of college, professional preparation for student affairs, and more. (Author)

Proposes an alternative approach to community nursing assessment based on knowledge construction, including assessors' constructions of reality. Notes that qualitative methods such as triangulation allow for multiple viewpoints and evaluation of intangible aspects. (SK)

Known but neglected validity issues in measurement are reviewed from the perspective of a 50-year history of research. Important but too often overlooked validity issues in applying assessment to social issue are identified, and needed directions for the fields of assessment and measurement are suggested. (SLD)

This special issue is devoted to current developments in multidimensional item response theory (MIRT). The six papers included in this issue (and two for the March issue) present applications of MIRT to practical testing problems and demonstrate innovative MIRT techniques for assessment. (SLD)

This response to Grubb notes that education reform must engage all stakeholders and build the capacity for change. The role of the family, the missing element in education through occupations, is emphasized. (SK)

Discusses why, as Congress prepared to reauthorize the Higher Education Act, colleges and universities should resist federal efforts at one-size-fits-all accountability. (EV)

Proposes a process approach to validity that addresses assessment validation in the context of high-stakes assessment. This approach includes a test evaluator or validator who considers the perspectives of five stakeholder groups at four different stages of assessment maturity in relation to six aspects of construct validity. Illustrates each…

Articulates a framework that can place the Outcomes Based Education movement in a historical context and by so doing advance its discourse on assessment. Reviews the development and structure of the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (B. Bloom et al., 1956) and the structure of Student Outcome Statements in Western Australia and explores the…

Discusses several new educational assessment procedures implemented in Illinois and Michigan school districts. (MM)

A study showed that 80 percent of medical schools were collecting outcome data, but there was a lack of coherence, integrated analysis, and longitudinal study. The purpose of examining outcomes is to gain sharper focus on the achievement of institutional goals, facilitate program improvement, and assure competence of graduates. (Author/MLW)

Discusses the features of the National Catholic Educational Association's newest instruments for assessing students' faith, attitudes about religious and social questions, and religious practice. Describes the 1989 administration of the Assessment of Catholic Religious Education multi-level instruments. (DMM)

An international group evaluated the University of Jyvaskyla (Finland) following university self-evaluation. This paper discusses initiation and ownership of the evaluation process, the nature of the process within the university, the impact on the university, and the wider impact. It compares self-evaluation with other approaches and comments on…

Discusses the need to pay more attention to the type and nature of the content assessed. Provides five guidelines designed to help teachers select material that will contain important content, the heart of authentic assessment. (MG)

Presents open-ended and semistructured interviews to assess reading comprehension. Highlights the potential value of interviews in aligning assessment practices with instruction and learning theory. (MG)