Informal assessment can make a valuable contribution to the assessment process in special education. Informal procedures are characterized by their ability to be tailored to the needs of specific assessment situations and are especially useful in student evaluation for this reason. (Author)

Factors related to the assessment of learning disabled adolescents include their failure patterns, curriculum and social demands, and institutional factors. Assessment should focus on cognitive, affective, and institutional aspects. Informal assessment approaches can include interviews, observation, and trial teaching. (CL)

Three types of informal assessment procedures (interest analysis, interviewing, and observation) are described as approaches to identifying areas of need in individualized programing for the gifted. (CL)

The paper stresses the importance of informal assessment of spelling, describing both quantitative and qualitative implications. Stages of word knowledge are reviewed and examples of student errors are cited to illustrate needed instruction. (CL)

Stressing that reading assessment should occur while students read books and write stories, the author discusses informal assessment of readiness, fluency, phonics, and comprehension. Implications for instruction are noted. (CL)

Eighteen ways to informally evaluate cognitive objectives are discussed: grafitti walls; newspapers; card sorts; crossword puzzles; visualizing; debates; audio-visual narratives; ABC lists; concept trees; mini textbooks; incomplete charts; brainstorming; checking guides; logs and journals; drama; manipulative events; student-made tests; student…

Suggests that social studies teachers need help in matching curriculum objectives and evaluation procedures. Outlines an evaluation method in which teachers pretest students, continually assess the full range of social studies activities, and combine subjective and objective procedures. (Author/KC)

Argues that show-and-tell is an important school learning activity that gives students an opportunity to practice and improve their oral language abilities. Offers a technique for the informal assessment of show-and-tell activities. (FL)

Tells how children's performances on informal spelling and writing tasks can be analyzed to develop appropriate instructional activities. Argues that the real utility of assessment procedures comes from the qualitative interpretation that a sensitive diagnostician makes, based on a knowledge of the student and of the process of reading. (AEA)

The paper describes a "mini-assessment" designed to help teachers understand the nature and extent of students' learning problems. A distinction is made between children with reading problems due to neurological differences and those with problems due to emotional, educational, or cultural factors. The importance of identifying and referring the…

Emphasizes that consideration of students' reading attitudes is an essential part of reading assessment. Discusses different ways of conceptualizing reading attitudes that teachers might find helpful and makes suggestions on how teachers can actually measure the attitudes of their students. (AEA)

Describes the development of an informal syllabication instrument that has proven useful in determining the strengths and weaknesses of secondary school students' word attack abilities. (FL)

To assess the effectiveness of various composition evaluation methods, a study asked two freshman English classes to respond to three questionnaires on the writing of personal essays and methods of evaluation they had experienced. Responses indicated that all students had a fear of having their essays evaluated. Evaluation methods considered a…

Five receptive and five expressive considerations are presented which serve as guidelines for the selection of informal evaluation tasks. The resulting procedure provides descriptive data on a student's auditory processing skills and his/her ability to use language for various purposes. (Author/CL)

Predicated on a belief that assessment and evaluation should be vital, planned aspects of the curriculum, this booklet describes classroom-based assessment that serves to inform teachers, students, and parents of the learner's growth as well as to suggest next-step instructional goals. Procedures developed by classroom teachers which integrate…