New Hampshire's Performance Assessment of Competency Education (PACE) innovative assessment system uses student scores from classroom performance assessments as well as other classroom tests for school accountability purposes. One concern is that not having annual state testing may incentivize schools and teachers away from teaching the breadth of…

Effective teacher evaluations serve the dual function of being both summative and formative (Danielson & McGreal, 2000). The current evaluation tool in Virginia uses a traditional approach of incorporating standardized test scores as forty percent of a measure of teacher effectiveness. By way of a literature review, this article applies a…

Introduction: Little is known about the overall appropriateness and value of the various programs available internationally for assessment and remediation for individual physicians whose performance in their clinical practice has been identified as giving cause for concern. Method: A questionnaire was e-mailed to members of the International…

This fall, the nine states that finished as runners up in last year's groundbreaking Race to the Top competition will have an opportunity to reapply for a grant. The winners will receive a combined $200 million to help implement the bold education reform plans they developed last year. Many of the eligible states already have clear roadmaps toward…

The focus article "Road Maps for Learning: A Guide to the Navigation of Learning Progressions" by Black, Wilson, and Yao (this issue) is a veritable tour-de-force, covering a great deal of education ground while spanning the heights from models of the interplay among curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment to interpretations of student…

This digest considers the use of performance assessment within outcomes-based accountability systems for students with and without disabilities. Application of performance assessment to students with disabilities involves defining the outcomes, developing performance standards, developing assessment accommodations, and scoring. Implications of…

A statewide performance-based accreditation system began using a performance index in 1995-96 to indicate where school districts fall in the distribution of accreditation levels. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there was a significant gain in the performance index in the second year. The performance index was based on the…

New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) established a Task Force on Student Assessment in the spring of 1990, which was designed to: review available information on testing principles and practices; make recommendations for reform of testing; and communicate its findings to NYSUT members. Ten recommendations were made, centering on the necessity…

A report on the Michigan project in performance contracting is presented. In contrast to the Office of Economic Opportunity announcement that performance contracting is a failure, the Michigan program has been successful in the initial stage of a major experiment (Texarkana Project). The state legislature has appropriated $22.5 million for…

Evaluated the effect of the League of Professional Schools, a democratic reform in Georgia, using performance measures from the state's educational performance measurement system. Performance of League schools was positive relative to several performance standards, but it was not possible to demonstrate that the League was a necessary component of…

A QUESTIONNAIRE, SENT TO DIRECTORS OF 89 PUBLIC, STATE VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION AGENCIES AND OF AGENCIES WHICH SERVE THE BLIND, WAS DESIGNED PRIMARILY TO SURVEY PRESENT PRACTICES USED IN EVALUATING COUNSELORS ON THEIR STAFF. MULTIPLE-CHOICE-TYPE QUESTIONS REQUIRED TWO TYPES OF ANSWERS--THE VARIOUS COUNSELOR CHARACTERISTICS CONSIDERED OR REQUIRED…

THIS RESEARCH CONCERNS THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG REHABILITATION COUNSELOR PERFORMANCE CRITERIA CURRENTLY BEING USED OR READILY AVAILABLE TO STATE VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION AGENCIES. THE 143 COUNSELORS STUDIED CAME FROM MIDDLE-SIZED AGENCIES IN SIX STATES AND, SINCE COWORKER RATINGS WERE REQUIRED, THE SAMPLE WAS LIMITED TO COUNSELORS WORKING WITH TWO…

This document is a selected annotated bibliography of publications and information sources related to performance-based teacher education (PBTE). The document is divided into six sections: General Materials About PBTE; Performance Criteria and Evaluation Procedures (Group A: General Materials; and Sample Lists); PBTE Program Development Programs…

This Critical Issue Bibliography (CRIB) sheet focuses on performance indicators in higher education. Performance indicators are concrete pieces of information about a condition or result of public action that is regularly produced, publicly reported, and systematically used for planning, monitoring, or resource allocation. The resources in this…

A stakeholder approach was used in the development of a statewide educational performance monitoring system in Virginia--the Educational Performance Recognition program. Stakeholder groups included teachers, superintendents, school board members, and education group representatives. Responses of 58 stakeholders surveyed were positive. (SLD)