Research shows that learning communities are an effective way to improve student performance and persistence, but the success of any particular implementation is not guaranteed. Each program should be evaluated with regard to the likelihood that better-prepared students tend to participate. The protocol used for evaluation at Indiana…

Grading class participation can send positive signals to college students about the kind of learning and thinking an instructor values. Various structures for participation (whole-class discussion, cold-calling on students, collaborative learning, electronic mail, journals, student-faculty conferences) call for different approaches to assessment.…

A technique is presented for evaluating methylphenidate (MPH) effects on core behavioral symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder at the single-subject level of analysis. Case-study results and multivariate analyses suggests systematic evaluation of behavior and cognitive MPH dose-response relationships could lead to more accurate MPH…

A study involving 24 special educators and 31 regular educators found that special educators using transenvironmental programming who received curriculum-based measurement information about their students' academic progress were more likely to plan and implement academic interventions in preparation for students' transition than those who did not…

Profiles a class exercise that teaches the importance of developing an accurate definition of a psychological construct (guilt, control, altruism). The more precise the definition, the easier it is to choose an appropriate technique to measure that construct. Discusses the Health and Psychosocial Instrument File, a recent measurement database.…

Suggests that conversations about portfolio entries offer the best opportunity to grow, learn, and enhance teaching expertise as teachers develop from beginners to experts. Portfolios have emerged as an alternative form of assessment well-suited for formative and summative assessment of self and others and for elevating the dialog about teaching…

Describes a field-based outcome-measure study in which a family-systems curriculum was designed and implemented in a graduate clinical preparation program in speech-language pathology. In addition, families' perceptions of the pediatric speech-language assessment process were evaluated. Clinical competencies for preservice and professional…

Describes a project developed at the University of Ottawa to integrate learning technologies across the teacher education curriculum. Highlights include student teacher needs; a needs analysis; the change process; student and faculty attitudes; and preliminary results of an evaluation that show problems to be addressed in future courses.…

Focuses on a videoconferencing project that was conducted between an American and a French university. Describes the way that the exchange was set up and run, the types of equipment and materials that were used, the students' activities and assignments, the methods used for evaluating students' work, and the relationship of the project to the…

Discusses the transition for faculty from teaching traditional classes to online courses, including new pedagogical approaches, assessment practices, group interaction, and student/teacher dialog. Describes a systems change approach being implemented at Southern Cross University (Australia) that includes a collaborative action learning model for…

Presents the development and piloting of a coding system for evaluation of asynchronous Web-based instruction/learning. Processes were guided by four prominent education perspectives and the extended examination of, and survey data from, 17 archived Web-based courses. These served as the bases for the development and application of the coding…

A seminar in Idaho on creating assessment and accountability plans for charter schools presented attributes of assessments that build children's confidence and give insights into how they can improve; offered criteria for using portfolio assessments; and described how to develop objectives that are measurable. A sidebar presents a six-step plan…

The problem with standardized testing is that it is standardized. Different learners learn differently, different teachers teach differently, and different teacher-learner combinations work differently at different times and in different ways. Standardized tests must be abandoned in favor of methods of creative evaluation that address the needs of…

Discusses middle school students' hypermedia projects using IBM's "Linkway" that are developed with students, teachers, and the library media specialist. Assessment in the areas of presentation, cooperative learning skills, computer skills, and knowledge is described, and the development of scoring rubrics is explained. (LRW)

A series of analyses based on a longitudinal study of reading achievement in Chicago (Illinois) illustrate that the conclusions drawn about academic growth and the decisions about types of interventions needed may be very sensitive to the metric that is used (i.e., grade equivalents or item response theory metrics). (SLD)