Asking college students how much they have learned or grown is a common assessment practice in student affairs and elsewhere. Unfortunately, recent research suggests that these self-reported gains do a very poor job of measuring actual student learning and growth. This paper provides an overview of the psychological process of how students likely…

This article offers strategies and resources to help educators assess the impact of inclusion programs on the academic performance and social and behavioral development of students with and without disabilities. Suggested guidelines are intended to identify program strengths and aspects in need of revision. (Contains extensive references.)…

Describes portfolio assessment, recommending it as a means of dynamic and ongoing student evaluation. For students, portfolios stimulate thinking and promote independence. For teachers, they provide a multidimensional view of each child's development. The article explains how to get started, customize portfolio contents, collect notes, and manage…

Students often arrive at universities ill-prepared for the reflective practice needed to derive maximum benefits from a Freshman Seminar. At the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, portfolio projects are semester-long assignments in which the portfolio serves as a capstone activity to help freshmen more thoroughly analyze their first year…

This paper describes the development and use of a guidance counselor evaluation form created by guidance counselors working in French language secondary schools in Ottawa, Canada. The need for such a form, which requires joint evaluation by the counselor and his department head or principal, is examined, and the historical background leading to…

This pamphlet describes the process of beginning to use portfolios in an elementary teacher training program. It defines the concept of portfolios and provides a rationale for their use in teacher education programs. Portfolios are suggested for use in preservice teacher education in three ways: to evaluate the preservice teacher education…

This paper argues for the use of action research in improving the effectiveness of teaching by professors and briefly discusses the reasons why this is important. The paper stresses that if the purpose of education is student development, then teachers should also be developing in their chosen field of service. Action research helps bring faculty…

Constructive-developmental theory, with its emphasis on epistemology and cognitive complexity, explicitly links learning and developmental growth. One model, which identifies five shifts in perception throughout the life span, describes some of higher education's values and objectives. The theory offers a promising direction for student evaluation…

Describes procedures for writing an effective counseling curriculum guide to meet the individual needs of children, kindergarten through grade 12, based on the guide developed at the Vestavia Hills School System. Focuses on the importance of a developmental guide, special education and career preparation, and selection of appropriate content. (JAC)

Yearly interviews investigated 101 college students' perceptions of their experiences throughout the 4 years of college as they related to 3 different epistemologies ranging from unquestioned acceptance of knowledge to self-authored knowledge and to gender differences within these epistemologies. Results suggest teaching strategies and evaluation…

This book applies the "Principles of Good Practice for Assessing Student Learning" developed by the American Association for Higher Education (AAHE) to 82 case examples of assessment strategies being implemented at American institutions of higher education. Part 1 presents 10 chapters each covering one of the nine AAHE principles (and an…

This digest summarizes what is known about developing desired educational outcomes and anticipated time frames in specialized programs for students who are gifted. Learner outcomes are defined and characteristics of appropriate ones outlined. Next, the importance of identifying specific learner goals and outcome indicators is explained with…

Discusses how some behavioristic techniques can increase humanism in schools. Describes activities to enhance students' active participation in the self-actualization process, including using behavioral objectives, evaluation, and grading. Defines classroom application of behavioral principles and suggests they encourage a humanistic environment.…

This book suggests that both students and teachers should think constructively about classroom literacy practices through the use of diagnostic-reflective portfolios--the result of a process of collection and reflection in which teachers and students collaborate to demonstrate a learner's growth over time. The book tells the story of a…

This document presents a model for student organization development, defining in detail the central conditions for the CORE model (Cohesion, Organization, Resourcefulness, and Energy); and provides an assessment tool, the CORE Conditions Checklist, for checking the extent to which these conditions are present in organizations. The CORE model is…