This document provides information for decision-making by school personnel, parents, and other Individualized Education Program (IEP) team members about the participation of students with disabilities in the various assessments. It explains in detail the use of adaptations, including accommodations and modifications, where necessary for students…

The principal goals of the State University of New York (SUNY) Brockport's large-scale writing assessment are to determine if a writing program actually helps students to write better and, if so, whether that growth can be measured during the college years. Portfolio assessment has become an attractive alternative to single-test essay at SUNY…

Describes a process for developing alternative assessment instruments and student responses and illustrates the use of scoring rubrics. Focus is on the student's thought processes and student performance. (AIM)

Dependence on standardized tests in adult literacy programs derives partly from their relative ease of adminstration and their appearance of providing valid and reliable quantitative data for program evaluation. Few adult educators are satisfied with the quality of the information, and most are extremely dissatisfied with the effects of such…

Despite dramatic evolution during the past decade, assessment of student performance still has issues to address which present important challenges for educators and may determine whether assessment ultimately succeeds or fails. The three issues are evaluating students, applying assessment innovations (holistic scoring and portfolio assessment),…

The situation of students with disabilities who also have limited English proficiency is addressed, including the identification of these students and a discussion of why it is important for them to participate in state and district assessments. Steps are recommended to ensure that these students are included so that they reap all the benefits of…