This paper reports an evaluation of a performance contract in reading with 2,500 seventh-grade students. Seventy-five percent of the students were to increase their reading speed five times over their beginning level with ten percent more comprehension after three months of instruction. Results indicated that only thirteen percent of the students…

This report provides a framework for evaluating the use of performance contracts. It serves as a working guide for those who are considering or are committed to performance contracts with public or private organizations. The topics cover (1) the theoretical basis and rationale of performance contracting, (2) the procurement model and the request…

This brief information sheet presents two strategies to motivate gifted students and is based on the book, "Teaching Gifted Kids in the Regular Classroom", by Susan Winebrenner. The curriculum compacting strategy allows students to spend less time with the regular curriculum and more time with extension and enrichment activities. The…

This paper examines the subject of "contract teaching", particularly as it relates to the field of instruction for physical education majors. Essentially, contracting for grades includes, "...an agreement between a teacher and a student at the beginning of a course as to the grade the student expects to receive and the amount and quality of work…

The paper presents a rationale for individualizing instruction in social studies in elementary and secondary schools and offers suggestions to aid classroom teachers as they develop two individualized instruction techniques. These recommended approaches are learning centers (areas of classrooms set aside for special learning, review, and…

Aspects of design and procedures used in the evaluation of a performance contract are discussed, and the project and findings are briefly summarized. The Virginia performance contract in reading was carried out in seven school districts. Evaluation of the project showed that although instructional changes that utilized desirable individualized…

This handbook was prepared to guide teachers who are concerned about dealing with the mainstreaming of students classified as disabled. Based on the experiences of Learning Unlimited, an alternative education program at North Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana, the handbook emphasizes that individualized outcomes for students can be…

This document provides the necessary instructions and forms for submission of a rapid learning center performance contract proposal as part of a 4-year dropout prevention program. Contract performance proposals are to embody mathematics and/or reading, and to involve students enrolled in grades 7-12 who are two or more grade levels deficient in…

A distinction among evaluation, measurement and reports of terminal behavior is presented. For the purposes of evaluation, any response to a speech performance provides useful feedback to the communicator. In addition to the teacher's evaluation of the performance against "established standards", it is argued that a teacher's subjective responses…

The central assumption in domain-referenced testing (DRT), as presented in this book, is that a domain may be determined which adequately represents a particular universe of knowledge. After a domain has been established, the technological and practical problem of using domain-referenced testing must be solved. This book contains a collection of…