Assessments associated with learning progressions are designed to provide diagnostic information about the level and nature of student understanding. Valid interpretations of such diagnoses are only possible when students consistently express the ideas associated with a single learning progression level. Latent class analysis was employed to…

Studied relationships between behavioral performances in cognitive and affective domains for 28 high school biology classes with instruction at three different levels. Analyses of students' test scores illustrated the presence of a possible inverse relationship between the cognitive and affective development. (CC)

A model of the character and mechanism for knowledge restructuring is presented and a model of educational practice designed to facilitate this form of restructuring is described. A broadened and integrated view of assessment and instruction called a portfolio culture, central to the educational model, is discussed. (KR)