Teacher educators have been plagued with the problem of devising useful instructional interventions, but often have been unable to assess the quality of their efforts because of the unavailability of satisfactory criterion measures. The application of teaching performance tests as (1) an instructional intervention, and as (2) a formative or…

Norm-referenced tests are inappropriate for evaluating health care practitioners; criterion referenced tests better describe what is not being measured. Reliable assessment of competency should focus on the valid testing of reasonable numbers of important skills. Available from: Sage Publications, Inc., 275 South Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills,…

The nature of classroom assessment is changing. Teachers are being urged to rely less on traditional tests and more on innovative measurement methods, such as performance tests and portfolio assessments. This digest describes a strategy whereby student services personnel can play a leadership role in familiarizing classroom teachers and school…

A project was undertaken to develop and validate a method of assessing teacher competence through the use of pupil performance tests. Teachers were given a list of specific, operationally defined objectives for a particular topic and directed to teach the objectives. Teacher competence was judged in relationship to the way their students performed…