This compilation provides an introduction to using scoring rubrics in the classroom. When good rubrics are used well, teachers and students receive extensive feedback on the quality and quantity of student learning. When scoring rubrics are used in large-scale assessment, technical questions related to interrater reliability tend to dominate the…

This collection of articles is the third in a series on assessment produced by Finger Lakes Community College (New York). It deals with classroom assessment as an ongoing process that can be of significant value to teachers as well as to students. Assessment at the college and assessment in the classroom in general are explored. Articles include:…

This book presents essays by researchers, practitioners, and policy makers who study the impact of classroom portfolios in the assessment of writing achievement by elementary and middle-grade students. Essays in the book report on a national survey of exemplary projects and presents contributions to a Portfolio Conference held at Stanford…

This booklet, second in a series on issues in assessment, seeks to describe an initiative supported by Finger Lakes Community College (New York) to use classroom assessment techniques (CATs) in different academic areas and to present an overview of some assessment approaches that have been used in the classroom. Papers include: (1) "Enhancing…

More and more, schools are looking to student portfolios as a valid, reliable, and authentic form of assessment. This collection offers practical, well-researched answers to a variety of philosophical, organizational, and implementational questions surrounding portfolio assessment. Articles in the first section provide a rationale for student…

This is a comprehensive text about beliefs, issues, and practices at the forefront of literacy education--language, ethnic, and academic diversity; authentic assessment; and social construction of meaning and knowledge--explored through the lens of a cohesive instructional design, the Book Club Program. It presents a pedagogical model based on a…

The result of an investigation into the grading writing by the National Council of Teachers of English Committee on Alternatives to Grading Student Writing, this collection of essays offers the writing teacher several innovative and interesting options. Following an introduction by the editor (chair of the Committee), in which he delineates the…

This book supports constructive discussion about assessment and provides concrete directions for change. The 10 chapters outline many of the difficulties associated with current standardized testing. While most educators refer to the new non-standardized test efforts as alternative assessments, this type of assessment is increasingly being called…

Four papers follow and document the progress of the Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing in understanding questions related to alternative assessment based on case studies in three elementary schools. The research questions include consideration of the logistical constraints that must be respected in developing…

An inclusive, learning-friendly environment (ILFE) welcomes, nurtures, and educates all children regardless of their gender, physical, intellectual, socio-economic, emotional, linguistic and other characteristics. "Inclusive" in the school setting generally refers to the inclusion or children with disabilities into regular classrooms designed for…

This book provides guidance on high-impact teaching practices, offering first-hand accounts of award-winning teachers. Nine chapters include: (1) "Award-Winning Words of Wisdom," with topics: "High School Teaching Tips" (Jenny W. Holmstrom); "What Is a Good Teacher?" (Carey Jenkins); "Student Creativity"…

This handbook presents the perspectives of more than 60 leading authorities on the study and practice of adult and continuing education. The following are among the papers included: "A Selective History of Adult Education Handbooks" (A.L. Wilson, E.R. Hayes); "The Concept of Critically Reflective Practice" (Stephen D.…