A new vision of science learning described in the "Next Generation Science Standards"--particularly the science and engineering practices and their integration with content--pose significant challenges for large-scale assessment. This article explores what might be learned from advances in large-scale science assessment and…

After many previous failed attempts to reach illiterate adults, the award-winning South African "Kha Ri Gude" mass literacy campaign, launched in 2008, undertook to ensure that learners seized the opportunity to learn--for many adults, this was a "last chance". Written from an insider perspective by the campaign's founding…

This paper describes how a state education system in Australia introduced standards-referenced assessments into its large-scale, high-stakes, curriculum-based examinations in a way that enables comparison of performance across time even though the examinations are different each year. It describes the multi-stage modified Angoff standard-setting…

This invited special issue of "Early Education and Development" presents research related to the Early Development Instrument (EDI; Janus & Offord, 2007), a community tool to assess children's school readiness at a population level. In this editorial introduction, we first sketch out recent trends in school readiness research that call for a…

This paper discusses the ethical and practical issues involved in the development and implementation of a preschool screening battery. A screening program is described and the resulting data presented in an attempt to illustrate the investment in time, money, and energy required. The ethical questions that arise because of the lack of…

Cooperative learning is a teaching technique that many teachers of all levels use in their classrooms. Putting students in structured groups so that they may work together has become a popular teaching strategy. Cooperative learning is student-centered teaching that requires the teacher to be facilitator and where students learn from each other.…

THE COLLEGE-LEVEL EXAMINATION PROGRAM WHICH STARTED IN 1965 AS A NEW ACTIVITY OF THE COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAMINATION BOARD HAS FIVE AIMS. THEY ARE TO GIVE A NATIONAL PROGRAM OF EXAMINATIONS TO EVALUATE NONTRADITIONAL COLLEGE-LEVEL EDUCATION INCLUDING INDEPENDENT STUDY AND CORRESPONDENCE WORK, TO STIMULATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES TO BECOME MORE…

Describes a new theory of multiple intelligences (MI) that identifies seven relatively independent forms of information processing that individuals exhibit in differing patterns. Describes the following MI-related educational research projects: (1) Arts PROPEL; (2) the Key School project; and (3) Project Spectrum. (FMW)

The purposes of large-scale assessment and classroom assessment are often seen as distinct: Large-scale assessments, including school district, state, and national assessments, are directed at the formative and summative assessments of educational programs, while classroom assessments are focused primarily on the educational status or progress of…

Describes an individual and group method for learning about children's school attitudes, appropriate for students not yet proficient in paper and pencil usage. Gives directions for administration and interpretation of the Kinetic School Drawing, and suggestions for using it as a counseling or diagnostic aid. (KMF)