Statistical equating of scores from direct writing assessments is performed in Maryland to hold the difficulty of passing the Maryland Writing Test (MWT) equivalent from year to year and to allow a demonstration of growth in student writing achievement over the years. Passage of the test is a high school graduation requirement. Prior to…

This document is a transcript of a forum held in Washington, D.C. on June 6, 2006 on performance-based compensation in public education. The discussion was introduced by Eugenia Kemble, executive director of the Albert Shanker Institute, forum sponsor. The forum was moderated by Milton Goldberg and featured speakers Edward Lawler (director, Center…

This study was conducted in order to identify the major reading, cognitive, and linguistic skills that contribute to individual differences in performance on the reading portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) at third, seventh, and tenth grades. The authors were also interested in understanding the primary deficiencies in…

This study explored the bases for awarding incentive in a pay for performance system in Jamaica. The bases were generated by surveying the perspectives of a representative sample of teachers in the system at the time. The relative significance of emerging bases were examined through quantitative methods culminating in a set of criteria for…

This manual contains information about the contents of a database that provides information about efforts to match changing goals for student achievement to ideas about instruction. The database, available on disk, contains descriptive information on alternative assessments in science and mathematics. The database uses a broad definition of…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of analytic corrections and revisions on college composition students working in a portfolio assessment setting. Subjects were 19 community college students enrolled in a transfer-level class in composition. Three of these students were from the English as a Second Language/immigrant/refugee…

This document contains the following papers on concepts and procedures from the SITE (Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education) 2001 conference: "Using School District Standards To Develop Thematic Lessons for Electronic Portfolios" (Cindy L. Anderson and others); "Using Adobe Acrobat for Electronic Portfolio…

This paper describes how university coursework for a graduate level teaching internship in Childhood Education (preK-4) at the University of Arkansas incorporates standards of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) and encompasses performance-based assessment as utilized in Praxis III to develop instructional units. The…

This paper makes recommendations for developing the next generation of state accountability systems for postsecondary vocational education (PVE). It focuses on the need to improve the core indicators for PVE; reduce the burden and improve the value of Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Amendments of 1998 (Perkins III)…

These discussions of performance-based student assessment provide a record of a decade-long exploration of unsettled issues in assessment. The first section provides the elements of a basic rationale for performance-based assessment, while the second section contains accounts of efforts to develop new performance-based systems in one city and four…

This guide is a useful resource for educators who would like to begin using portfolios in the classroom. The three major types of portfolios are working portfolios (collections of work in progress), display portfolios (also called showcase or best works), and assessment portfolios. These types are distinct in theory, but tend to overlap in…

Cultural inclusion is more than equal access to learning. It also involves recognizing and valuing the unique cultural capital that students of diverse ethnicity bring to the learning environment. Native American students in reservation schools have experiences that differ from the mainstream, experiences that are rarely reflected in text material…

Two papers that examine how to assess students' work in this age of electronic information sources include: "Students on the Net: Enhancing Learning through Authentic Assessment" (James Henri); and "Assessing Students' Work from the Net: An Impossible Dream?" (Paul Lupton) The first paper notes the problem of parents doing…

This updated guide to using portfolios in educational assessment incorporates current teaching practices and new technology. The portfolio is defined as a systematic and organized collection of evidence used by the teacher and the student to monitor the growth of the student's knowledge, skills, and attitudes. The guide offers: (1) clear…

Developed by classroom teachers during the development phase of Minnesota's Graduation Standards, this performance package is made up of locally designed assignments that, taken together, show whether a student has learned and can apply the knowledge and skills related to comprehending technical information from documents or electronic media and…