This policy brief summarizes research results and provides guidance regarding decisions associated with school accountability. Unlike previous notions of accountability, a standards-based system examines outputs, such as student performance and graduation rates, as well as inputs like the amount of instructional time or the number of books in the…

This book explains to teachers and administrators the processes for creating student showcase portfolios to be used in student-led conferences. The portfolio is an assessment document of student performance, while the student-led conference truly demonstrates student learning. Creating portfolios without the purpose of sharing them with an…

The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) offers a unique opportunity to examine some of the issues related to gender differences in mathematics achievement in an international context. TIMSS report of 8th grade mathematics achievement revealed few significant differences in mean achievement by gender; differences that did…

This report defines and explains the importance of the learning outcomes approach. According to the paper, this approach bases curriculum design, content, delivery and assessment on the application and integration of knowledge, skills and values -- a comprehensiveness that is not achieved with a competency approach. The report also discusses…

This study guide is designed to help teachers understand the role assessment plays in helping students learn and to help teachers improve their own assessment capacities. The guide contains assigned readings, discussion questions, activities, checks for understanding, and reflections for learners using the "Classroom Assessment: Linking…

This book describes the rationale and research underlying the testing of an "audit" that explored how school districts organize themselves to reform middle-grades education. The volume is intended for those who seek to improve achievement, equity, and learning communities. Section 1 describes the theory, research, and framework for district…

This document combines in one place the provisions of Washington State law that provide the legal framework for "education reform." Due to the nature in which Washington State laws are "codified" in statute and to the comprehensiveness of education reform, the laws regarding education reform are scattered throughout the Revised…

This guide provides a "road map" to the various ways that schools and employers assess high-performance competencies, such as problem solving, information management, and communication and negotiation skills. The guide begins with a brief analysis of why it is important to assess these skills in light of the current standards environment…

Major topics in the field of assessment measurements are described in this text. Focus is on appropriateness for use in the art classroom. The volume prepares teachers to address assessment effectively as it relates to their own art classroom practices. Familiar art assessment strategies and procedures are presented along with new insights about…

The premise of this book is that the primary purpose of classroom assessment is to inform teaching and improve learning, not to sort and select students or to justify a grade. The common principles of effective assessment are covered, and the strengths and limitations of a variety of effective approaches are reviewed. Vignettes illustrate…

Presents the results of the 1998 Quality Evaluation of Service Trends (QUEST) Survey administered at Howard Community College (Maryland) to 182 employees. This survey has been conducted annually since 1990. Ten of the service areas listed on the QUEST Survey improved their ratings over the last survey. There were declines in the 40 other areas.…

The first edition of this book was written to encourage practitioners to adopt more "authentic" assessment practices. This second edition has been expanded to include new information and scholarship about the authentic assessment of young children and the types of information teachers need to implement quality authentic assessment strategies. The…

With sample lesson plans, student assessment forms and rubrics, and other practical materials, this book shows how the principles of the Paideia Program of educational reform can result in more powerful student learning. The chapters are: (1) "Introducing Paideia"; (2) "Didactic Instruction"; (3) "Academic Coaching";…

This paper establishes a comparison between the problems that IT (Information Technology) people are currently having in evaluating the return on the investment in IT and the difficulties faced by those who have been trying to find consistent ways of assessing the benefits of formal education since the 1960s. The objective was to determine if the…

The Student Affairs profession has changed significantly. Is graduate training keeping up? Do young Student Affairs professionals know what to expect once they get to campus? Members of NERCHE's (New England Resource Center for Higher Education) Student Affairs Think Tank met to discuss the relationship between graduate training and the workplace.