Although the notion of Global Englishes (GE) has been widely discussed in the literature, few books consider how GE can be translated into educational practice. This book addresses the incorporation of GE into language policy and curriculum, pedagogy and assessment practices, and focuses on a wide range of geographical and language contexts.…

Standardized tests have been selected as a key assessment factor in expanding the academic achievement of the national student population. However, these tests position immigrant students at the risk of academic failure, leading education experts to search for new strategies and teaching models. The "Handbook of Research on Assessment…

"Rising to the Challenge: Meaningful Assessment of Student Learning" was envisioned in response to a 2007 request for proposals from the U.S. Department of Education's Fund for Improvement of Post Secondary Education (FIPSE). FIPSE called for national, consortial contributions to improving the knowledge and abilities to assess student…

This book overturns the typical conception of standards, empowering educators by providing concrete examples of how top-down models of assessment can be embraced and used in ways that are consistent with critical pedagogies. Although standards, as broad frameworks for setting learning targets, are not necessarily problematic, when they are…

As a part of the teacher licensure program at the graduate level at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), the M.Ed. Licensure candidate is required to complete an action research project during a 3-semester-hour course that coincides with the 9-semester-hour student teaching experience. This course, Education 590 Culminating…

This book covers various aspects of the "graded objectives movement" in England and is intended to help teachers understand the ideas behind the movement and to form working groups to implement it. Graded objectives are understood as those objectives which represent steps in a continuum that could be attempted by all learners who would…

Focuses on two implicit assumptions that Carl Rogers saw as dangerous undercurrents in the educational process: that ability to pass examinations is the best criterion for student selection and for judging professional promise, and that evaluation is education and education is evaluation. Opinions are offered by three professionals, each with…

To promote student engagement, professors must actively seek to create the conditions that foster engagement. Chickering and Gamson (1987) suggest that good practices in undergraduate education are ones that: encourage student-faculty contact, develop reciprocity and cooperation among students, encourage active learning, provide students with…

Three papers represent an interchange on the article in this issue by D. Meaghan and F. Casas on standardized achievement testing. The first paper calls the article unbalanced. The second paper says it is based on truth but too negative. The third paper is a response from Meaghan and Casas. (SM)

Living in an age of communication, literacy is an extremely integral part of our society. We are impacted by literature during our infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. "Literacy for the New Millennium" includes information from specialists in the field who discuss the influence of popular culture, media, and technology on…

This issue of Occasional Papers began as a Graduate School seminar honoring Steven Schultz, a much beloved and respected faculty member whose untimely death from HIV/AIDS-related illnesses left a terrible hole in the lives of Bank Street staff members. The seminar, organized by Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Virginia Casper, a close friend…

This user-friendly guide offers advice and insight on developing defensible identification procedures and services for gifted and talented students. Special attention is given to the use of multiple methods including qualitative and quantitative assessments such as standardized measures (e.g. intelligence, aptitude, and achievement tests),…

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…

This collection provides a new perspective for understanding what assessment can do to promote continuous improvement in education. The concepts of systems thinking, continued learning, mental models, shared vision, and team building are highlighted in the selections, which include: (1) "A Systems Approach to Assessing School Culture"…

The six articles of this special issue focus on minority issues in program evaluation. The aim is to begin a discussion of minority concerns about the impact of cultural dominance on definitions of social goals, the measurement of outcomes, and the political consequences of the selection of evaluation methods. (SLD)