This brief from the Region 2 Comprehensive Center, in consultation with the New York State Education Department, presents seven state case studies that illustrate the implementation of performance-based assessments. It contributes to the growing research on performance-based assessment, highlighting specific state-level policies that include…

There is a growing interest in conceptualizing, defining, and assessing what are often called 21st century skills or deeper learning competencies. The purpose of this literature review is to explore the conceptualizations, definitions, and understandings in the research literature related to collaboration. Key initial questions include: What is…

Digital information literacy (DIL)--generally defined as the ability to obtain, understand, evaluate, and use information in a variety of digital technology contexts--is a critically important skill deemed necessary for success in higher education as well as in the global networked economy. To determine whether college graduates possess the…

Education has a long-standing practice of turning worthwhile learning goals into lists of bits. One might even say that this practice is the original sin in curriculum design: take a complex whole, divide it into small pieces, string those together in a rigid sequence of instruction and testing, and call completion of this sequence…

The absence of universally accepted definitions for direct and indirect assessment motivates the purpose of this article: to offer definitions that are literature-based and theoretically driven, meeting K. Lewin's (1945) dictum that, "There is nothing so practical as a good theory" (p. 129). The authors synthesize the literature to…

What is effective teaching? It is not enough to say "I know it when I see it"--not when we are expecting so much more from students and teachers than in the past. To help teachers achieve greater success with their students we need new and better ways to identify and develop effective teaching. The Measures of Effective Teaching (MET)…

Much of the argument about comparability of examination standards is at cross-purposes; contradictory positions are in fact often both defensible, but they are using the same words to mean different things. To clarify this, two broad conceptualisations of standards can be identified. One sees the standard in the observed phenomena of performance…

Robert Coe has claimed that three broad conceptions of comparability can be identified from the literature: performance, statistical and conventional. Each of these he rejected, in favour of a single, integrated conception which relies upon the notion of a "linking construct" and which he termed "construct comparability".…

Uses two direct writing assignments to show that performance assessment denotes the kind of student response to be examined, whereas authentic assessment denotes assessment context. Although not all performance assessments are authentic, it is difficult to imagine an authentic assessment that would not also be a performance assessment. Educators…

Reviews recent trends in performance testing, focusing on different definitions of performance testing; the extent to which performance tests have drawn upon the theoretical discussions of competence and performance; research on performance tests; and future developmental and research questions. (66 references) (MDM)

This digest offers principles of performance assessment as an alternative to norm-referenced tests. The definition of performance assessment developed by the U.S. Congress's Office of Technology and Assessment is given, common features are listed, and the terms "performance" and "authentic" are defined. Suggested guidelines for…

Assessment literates know how to meet specific standards of quality. Sound assessments arise from and serve clear purposes, reflect clear and appropriate achievement targets, rely on proper methods, sample student achievement appropriately, and control for sources of bias and distortion. Barriers include fear of assessment, insufficient time, and…

This paper on performance assessment of children with disabilities clarifies terminology, proposes a set of critical issues for discussion, outlines historical and current trends, examines reasons for current interest in performance assessment, and reviews problems and considerations in performance assessment. (JDD)

This report provides an overview of the use of functional assessment in the evaluation of individuals with psychiatric disabilities. It begins by discussing the difficulties with traditional forms of assessment and the development of functional assessment, particularly in the field of psychiatric rehabilitation. The need to not rely on any single…

A consortium effort sponsored by the Northwest Regional Evaluation Association has arrived at a workable definition of a portfolio that takes into account the viewpoints of teachers and those interested in large-scale assessment. The modified definition states that: "A student portfolio is a purposeful collection of student work that tells…