This article presents the Achieving Success Everyday (ASE) group counseling model, which is designed to help school counselors integrate students' academic and personal-social development into their group work. We first describe this group model in detail and then offer one case example of a middle school counselor using the ASE model to conduct a…

Surveys of employers continually highlight the need for better communication skills among recent college graduates. Yet, writing instruction in higher education serves far more than a transactional purpose. Writing facilitates learning, helps students gain skills in analysis and synthesis, and supports a range of other personal and intellectual…

Three approaches to assessment of culturally and linguistically different students are psychometrics; "missionary," which tries to apply mainstream models to minority cultures; and developmental, which asserts that individual potential cannot be compared among students. The latter approach is most promising for diverse students. (SK)

Describes a method for making standardized test results more useful for teachers, administrators, school board members, and parents by providing information on the test content actually mastered by the student and on the student's individual development over time, as well as providing traditional numerical and norm-referenced scores. (PGD)

The process of assessment of learners in professional training is discussed. In professional training, students are involved in assessment, since the examining process is overtly linked to the learning practice. Distinctions concerning examinations, assessment, and evaluation are offered. Professional training is concerned with competence in…

Addresses the problems with conventional assessment in social studies and describes an alternative form called dynamic assessment. Explains how to use dynamic assessment in social studies, and in particular, for evaluating citizenship participation. Provides two charts that demonstrate how dynamic assessment can modify teachers' evaluation…

Student perspectives on learning was investigated at Alverno College. Attention was directed to how students understand and justify learning outcomes, and how they understand liberal learning as relevant to performance in personal and professional roles. The competency-based curriculum at Alverno College defines competencies as developmental,…

Reed College uses a junior qualifying examination, which can take a number of forms, a senior thesis based on the subject chosen for the junior exam, and an oral exam based on the senior thesis to monitor student preparation and measure the strengths and weaknesses of the curriculum and instruction. (MSE)

This paper argues for the use of social indicators, in conjunction with the traditional norm-referenced and criterion-referenced tests, to assess the effects of local educational systems. A conceptual framework for the study of educational performance is presented, interrelating: (1) personal resources invested by youth; (2) opportunities for…

This study was designed to explore changes in students' problem-solving skills as they analyzed instructional design case studies during a semester-long course. Nineteen students at two Midwestern universities analyzed six to ten case studies as part of their course assignments. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected, with students'…

This proceedings reports on a 2-day conference which was the culminating event of a study on ways in which to better integrate the liberal arts with teacher preparation. The papers in this volume represent a cross-section of the growing body of knowledge surrounding portfolios and teacher education. The strongest conclusions drawn from the…

The Six Performance Characteristics rating, An Alverno College assessment technique used in the outcome-centered liberal arts curriculum, is discussed. The technique provides a means for faculty to judge students in a systematic way over time on developmental characteristics that apply to their performance across disciplines and across competence…

This collection of 22 essays examines the use of records of achievement (student profiles or portfolios) in higher and vocational education in the United Kingdom. They include: (1) "Records of Achievement: Background, Definitions, and Uses" (Alison Assiter and Eileen Shaw); (2) "Profiling in Higher Education" (Alison Assiter…