This article presents a model for culturally responsive instruction (CRI) that represents a synthesis of research on effective literacy and content instruction for diverse middle grades learners.The article discusses the various elements of the Culturally Responsive Instruction Observation Protocol (CRIOP) model. It then examines these elements by…

A consensus is emerging among researchers who study charter schools that general conclusions about whether or not charter schools nationally perform better than traditional public schools are difficult to achieve (Buddin & Zimmer, 2005). Rather than asking, "Are charter schools working?" the better questions to ask might be,…

Evaluating the impact of instructional innovations and coordinating instruction, assessment, and testing present complex tensions. Many evaluation and coordination efforts aim to address these tensions by using the coherence provided by modern cognitive science perspectives on domain-specific learning. This paper introduces an alternative…

This study investigates the effects of a competency-oriented course and the effects of feedback training on students' reflection skills. Thirty-one nursing students enrolled in a conventional course with lectures and assignments following a traditional test. Subsequently, they enrolled in a competency-oriented course, which included more…

Researchers can evaluate learning by using direct and indirect assessment. Although there are various ways to apply these approaches, two common techniques are pretests and posttests (direct assessment), in which students demonstrate mastery of topics or skills, and the use of knowledge surveys (indirect assessment). The present authors used these…

The authors describe research on the extent to which mathematics classroom activities in Maryland were aligned with Maryland learning outcomes and the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP; Maryland State Department of Education, 1995, 2000). The study was part of a larger research project (S. Lane, C. S. Parke, & C. A. Stone,…

Discusses the need to pay more attention to the type and nature of the content assessed. Provides five guidelines designed to help teachers select material that will contain important content, the heart of authentic assessment. (MG)

To make the transition from traditional assessment, which was often counterproductive, to an array of assessment applications that will be more constructive for students, teachers must expand their vision of the relationship between assessment and effective schools. Assessment must be used to inform classroom decision making, and it must become…

This study uses Partial Credit Rasch analysis to study a complex data set of student responses to survey items relating to chance and data. The items were administered in the classroom and collected from 1993 to 2003 in the Australian state of Tasmania. Data were collected from a total of 5514 individual students across Grades 3 to 11 over the…

This book is intended to introduce the classroom teacher and prospective teacher to the elements of measurement and assessment that are essential to good teaching. The main theme is that assessment plays an important role in the instructional process. This edition has been revised to reflect major changes in educational assessment since the last…

This report presents general criteria for authentic pedagogy, instructional activities rooted in a primary concern for high standards of intellectual quality, as well as more specific standards that can be used to judge the quality of assessment tasks, classroom lessons, and student performance. Examples are given of tasks, lessons, and student…

This paper describes what teachers need to know about performance assessment to do it well. First, they should know what performance assessment is and why anyone should care. One thing that has to be emphasized is that there are two parts to a performance assessment: the tasks and the criteria. Teachers tend to be better at developing rich and…

This article attempts to outline the issues and to describe the process of developing a metaevaluation framework for assessing the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of the performance-assessment instruments being created by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. The metaevaluation framework consists of a set of evaluation…

This book is designed to help educators consider how assessment relates to instruction and recognize how assessment affects student learning. It intends to encourage teachers to establish a climate in which students can safely seek and use assessment information. A basic assumption is that learning occurs best in a positive setting, one that…

The long-range research and development needs for integrating assessment into instruction are discussed, and how ready the educational community is to begin making blueprints for this integration is explored. This paper addresses the problems of learning progress, diagnostic assessment, the design and implementation of performance tasks, and…