This guidebook is intended to assist the classroom teacher in developing assessments for English language learners (ELLs). More specifically, it will: help the teacher to determine whether a student may be an ELL; measure native-language proficiency or the English language proficiency of an ELL; determine initial instructional placement for an ELL…

This publication reports on a national American Association for Higher Education project to create ways to treat teaching as a scholarly activity that can be shared, documented, studied, reviewed, rewarded, and improved. The focus is not only on teacher practice but on its effect on student learning. Following an Introduction by Pat Hutchings,…

This document of skill standards for the food service cluster serves as a guide to workforce preparation program providers in defining content for their programs and to employers to establish the skills and standards necessary for job acquisition. These 41 occupational skill standards describe what people should know and be able to do in an…

These skill standards, developed through a consortium of educational and industry partners in Illinois, serve as guides to workforce preparation program providers to define content for their programs and to employers to establish the skills and standards necessary for job acquisition and performance. The skill standards include the following…

Performance level assessment (PLA) is a type of supplementary evidence system for competency-based assessment that is being pilot tested at five technical and further education (TAFE) institutes throughout Queensland, Australia. The PLA system uses the following three levels of performance: competency achieved; competency achieved with credit; and…

This document contains materials about and from a workshop that was conducted to help Ohio horticulture teachers learn to document student competence through effective performance assessments. The document begins with background information about the workshop and a list of workshop objectives. Presented next is a key to the 40 performance…

Describes a successful collaboration between high school and community college faculty that effected a reduced need for first-time college student remedial writing instruction. Discusses Ohio's Early English Composition Assessment Program, the model for collaborative success, and project recommendations. (YKH)

Presents a classroom teacher's experiences in preparing a fifth-grade class for the California Learning Assessment System (CLAS) test. Discusses an integrated curriculum approach, disagreements between teacher associations and the state department of education, and student and parent attitudes toward the test. (CFR)

Describes one university's Field Based Masters Program. Designed around intact cohorts of experienced teachers who meet weekly over two years, the program involves integrated curriculum and action research projects. The paper describes how group process and collaboration are integral to teachers' learning experiences and ongoing professional…

Describes a school-university collaboration that developed alternative teaching strategies for motivating inner-city, African-American middle school students (effort-based grading, multiple performance opportunities, increased student responsibility/choice, and validation of cultural differences). Observations, teacher journals, and student…

In an earlier article, we considered the pedagogy and assessment practices enacted by physical education (PE) teachers when attempting to translate a centrally prescribed rationale into meaningful performance-led teaching within an integrated curriculum--Higher Still Physical Education (HSPE) in Scotland. Through further research this article…

When the author was a little girl, her father told her the story of how he once saw the great Harry Houdini escape from a straight jacket. In the early 1900s, Houdini fascinated thousands of people by performing feats of life-threatening daring and agility. Houdini was a professional in the traditional sense: he acted alone, kept his trade secrets…

The model presented in this document integrates authentic assessment with traditional evaluation practices to create comprehensive assessment systems for elementary and secondary school students. Specifically, the model poses six categories of competencies that enjoy high levels of acceptance and construct validity: (1) knowledge of concepts,…

A variety of assessment methods and instruments can and should be used to evaluate the performance of individuals and groups. Some possible assessments are described, including (1) adaptive testing; (2) anecdotal records; (3) assessment centers; (4) behavioral checklists; (5) behaviorally anchored rating scales; (6) checklists; (7) computerized…

This book provides a rationale for, discussion, and extensive examples of curriculum-based assessments (CBA) for students with disabilities in the regular classroom, in the context of the collaborative consultation model. The model stresses the need for input from people with diverse expertise to generate creative solutions to mutually defined…