The author discusses the importance of listening to children and engaging them in dialogue about their learning. She does not accept that assessment should entail labelling children and believes such practices encourage a culture of fixed "ability" thinking. Through examples of specific children, the author illustrates the importance of…

Discusses teachers' use of portfolios by teachers for instruction. Describes ways to use them effectively: integrating portfolio assessment into the instructional day, making decisions about its content as the teacher works with the child, and holding portfolio conferences frequently. Reviews research on the contribution of portfolios to teachers'…

This project, funded by the Office for Substance Abuse Prevention (OSAP), is a comprehensive, multilevel prevention model for elementary school students, grades K-6. The project is based on OSAP's risk and resiliency factor model in which factors presumed to predispose youth toward or away from alcohol and other drug (AOD) use are influenced,…

The study examined whether an animal naming task would discriminate between 286 normal students (grades K-9) and 123 language disordered students (5-16 years old). The task was of a free and controlled association type for identifying word retrieval problems. Each subject (S) was administered the task individually in the school or clinic setting.…

This study established nine categories which taken together define the open classroom. Three open classrooms at the grade levels four to six were used for this study. To gather the data the classrooms were observed, literature was reviewed, interviews were taken, and audio and video equipment was used. The data was then analyzed, and the…

The speaker begins his presentation by reviewing the literature on merit programs, both for teachers and for administrators, and summarizing the pros and cons of such programs. He then discusses the development of the merit pay program operating in his district. The initial and most important step in planning that program was developing a…

The evaluation methodology delineated in this paper is a work in progress. The purpose is to develop a method for evaluating social studies curriculum materials that encompasses the materials' comprehensibility and the perspective offered. The paper draws from past evaluations that focused on either comprehensibility or perspective but have not…

To examine the development of the philosophy of education, educators, and educationists, this parody fable tells the story of a king in a faraway land who asked the old tradesmen to teach the teachers of the kingdom how to teach young people to build houses. The children learned well from this instruction and built many fine houses for the…

Examples from the evaluation of a program in which data collection systems were developed jointly by the program's staff and evaluators are described. The Louisiana SPUR (Special Plan Upgrading Reading) Project was evaluated by the Louisiana Department of Education Bureau of Evaluation. SPUR involves 63 of the state's 66 public school systems and…

Studies of human information processing have identified two basic ways people process information. Sequential learning solves problems by arranging small amounts of information in consecutive and linear order. Simultaneous processors solve problems by integrating and synthesizing parallel pieces of information at the same time. This study…

This paper examines the effect of a formal evaluation process upon educational change--specifically, the adoption of innovative reading programs and practices--at different organizational levels of implementation. Because of the size of the project (62 school systems, 142 designated schools, three sets of categorical funded projects), the…

Accurate personality assessment of youngsters is complex because thorough assessment involves much more than direct assessment of the child. To better understand this challenge, two omnibus instruments for child-personality assessment--the Tell-Me-A-Story (TEMAS) and the Behavior Assessment System for Children Self-Report of Personality (BASC…

The types of assessment methods that 400 Jamaican primary teachers indicated that they used in teaching science were analyzed using three instruments. Most of the teachers indicated that they often used oral quiz and other traditional assessment methods (TAM) while alternative assessment methods (AAM) were rarely used. An oral quiz was often used…

Demonstrates the use of converging evidence in examining the effects of class size reduction on academic achievement. Estimates derived from three different types of evidence is mutually supportive in this instance, suggesting that the effect of class size reduction from 24 to 15 produces modest, but lasting, increases in academic achievement.…

Over the last several years, substantial dissatisfaction has emerged with the use of norm-referenced, standardized tests for evaluating the academic performance of students. In particular, dissatisfaction has stemmed from concerns including the lack of overlap between the content of tests and the curriculum, the limited sensitivity of…