English and Spanish versions of a guide to testing reform are presented. The guide explains alternatives to standardized testing for educational assessment and shows how these new methods of evaluation will improve education. Standardized tests are used for an increasing number of purposes in the school system, but there is no proof that their use…

The aesthetic judgments of experts (casting directors and high school drama teachers), theater buffs, and novices were compared as they rated the videotaped performances of high school students performing Shakespearean monologues. Focus was on going beyond the determination of between-judge agreement to determine whether there were objective…

Standardized tests often produce results that are inaccurate, inconsistent, and biased against minority, female, and low-income students. Such tests shift control and authority into the hands of the unregulated testing industry and can undermine school achievement by narrowing the curriculum, frustrating teachers, and driving students out of…

During the spring semester of 1987, the Alabama State Department of Education conducted a statewide assessment study in which all teachers and principals participated. The classroom performance of teachers was observed, and their teaching competencies were measured on low- and high-inference instruments. These measurements were to be used to…

Our initial intention was to set out to explore the potential for implementing outcome-based assessment practices in a first year statistics unit. It has evolved into a search for a pedagogy enabling clear definition of the desired learning outcomes in our students, and alignment of instruction, student resources and assessment with these…

Adult basic education programs, sometimes called adult basic and secondary education programs, typically serve adults over the age of sixteen who do not have a high school diploma and are no longer eligible for traditional secondary education programs. Although adult basic education (ABE) is situated apart from the elementary, secondary, and…

These Illinois skill standards for dental assistant are intended to serve as a guide to workforce preparation program providers as they define content for their programs and to employers as the establish the skills and standards necessary for job acquisition. They could also serve as a mechanism for communication among education, business,…

These Illinois skill standards for dental hygienists are intended to serve as a guide to workforce preparation program providers as they define content for their programs and to employers as they establish the skills and standards necessary for job acquisition. They could also serve as a mechanism for communication among education, business,…

The education criteria presented in this guide are designed to help organizations use an integrated approach to organizational performance management that results in delivery of ever-improving value to students and stakeholders. Implementation of the criteria will contribute to improvement of education quality, improvement of overall…

For past two decades, there has been a growing national concern about teacher quality. This presentation discusses Connecticut's Beginning Educator Support and Training Program (BEST) and emulation of its assessment component by a medium sized department of education. The support component of BEST requires that all school districts provide…

The National Endowment for the Humanities and University of Texas (NEH-UT) collaborative project was established to develop authentic and practical tests of spoken Russian for younger, beginning students of Russian, and to create a guide for their implementation into instruction. The development process involved teachers of Russian at the middle,…

This book explores the issues involved in developing standards in higher education, examining the practical issues involved in benchmarking and offering a critical analysis of the problems associated with this developmental tool. The book focuses primarily on experience in the United Kingdom (UK), but looks also at international activity in this…

Analyzed statewide elementary and secondary school data from the Kansas Writing Assessment to examine the effects on student writing performance of student choice of topic and teacher choice (related to extent of engagement and amount of time allowed for writing processes). Results find the effect of choice is negligible, though it promotes good…

The program design and psychometric characteristics of the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) are described, focusing on scaling, equating, standard setting, score accuracy, and validity. The MSPAP is an innovative performance-based testing program administered annually to students in grades three, five, and eight. (SLD)

Performance-based, contextual assessments can highlight the academic and personal strengths of students that may be overlooked or judged pathological by traditional psychometric measures. This case study of a 10-year-old African American male special-education student illustrates how portfolio assessment improved the perception of his academic…