Presents two views of the place of technology in the National Standards Project, which aims to establish a national examination system to improve the performance of U.S. school children. Standards to promote technological literacy, the use of technology to assess performance, and the timetable for setting standards are discussed. (KRN)

At Mundelein (Illinois) High School, alternative assessments of student learning (portfolios, debates, learning logs, interviews, mock trials, and research reports) are replacing traditional testing practices. Alternative assessment bumped into everything else, necessitating changes in master scheduling, records management, curriculum, and teacher…

This article presents a schema designed to guide the development of theory, methodology, and research related to the psychoeducational assessment of African-American learners with gifts and talents. The relationships among African-American worldviews, needed psychoeducational assessment theory and methodology, and desirable assessment and…

Two studies investigated interrater agreement among 10 clinical dental examiners who scored residual subgingival calculus after student scaling on 4,160 real and 92 manikin tooth surfaces. Interrater reliability was low. Results suggest a need in periodontics for effective examiner calibration methods and objective subgingival calculus detection…

Describes 10 methods of assessment that teachers can use alone or in combination: (1) multiple marking, (2) peer evaluation, (3) mastery learning, (4) contracted learning, (5) credit-no credit grading, (6) self-evaluation, (7) anecdotal records, (8) pupil profiles, (9) checklists, and (10) dossiers. (FL)

Describes the addition of a writing performance assessment to the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), and how development of the Analysis of Argument measure and the Persuasive Adaptiveness measure helps explain the holistic writing score given during grading of the GMAT. Correlates holistic and analytic scores, revealing a positive…

Six medical school faculty evaluated the overall performance of eight students completing a surgery clerkship at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. Students were also evaluated by the National Board of Medical Examiners' Computer Based Examination (CBX). Faculty ratings correlated highly with scores produced by the CBX's…

This article discusses issues and difficulties encountered in efforts at the University of Birmingham (England) to standardize a new psychometric assessment tool, a tactile speed-of-information-processing test for children with blindness. The problem of defining the population on which the test is standardized is seen as particularly difficult.…

This paper describes pilot testing of Great Britain's standard assessment tasks (SATs), focusing on children with special educational needs. Two SATs were produced (Change and Movement) to assess three core subjects (English, mathematics, and science.) The need for SAT adaptations to allow children with disabilities equal access is stressed. (JDD)

Describes United States literacy characteristics, based on April 2000 reports from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement. Discusses Angoff methods for evaluating validity of high-stakes testing programs in Massachusetts and Virginia. (MLH)

This article shares how four students with severe disabilities in one Kentucky classroom achieved a "distinguished" rating, the highest rating, on their alternate portfolios by using the IntelliKeys keyboard as an alternative computer input device for the production of the alternate portfolio. It discusses tips for customizing IntelliKeys…

Explores the effects of a high-stakes, direct writing test on three teachers and their students. Suggests that an emphasis on test preparation diminished the likelihood of the teachers' engaging in reflective practice that is sensitive to the needs of individual students, and that the high-stakes assessment process discounted the validity of…

This study introduces the development of a Web-based assessment system, the Web-based Assessment and Test Analyses (WATA) system, and examines its impacts on teacher education. The WATA system is a follow-on system, which applies the Triple-A Model (assembling, administering, and appraising). Its functions include (1) an engine for teachers to…

To gather information on how No Child Left Behind's testing mandates have affected students and schools, Wisconsin ASCD conducted an electronic survey of administrators in every school district in the state. A total of 171 districts responded. Their responses indicated that the very resources that are central to the goals of NCLB--instructional…

Arguments between response to intervention (RTI) with curriculum-based measurement (CBM) and traditional, individual psychoeducational assessments encourage a false dichotomy between alternatives that are not mutually exclusive, but complementary. This article discusses strengths and weaknesses of both approaches, touches on current legislative…