Despite the acknowledged importance of integrating creativity into school curricula, students with learning disabilities often lack the skill of creativity, due to its absence in classroom instruction. To address these gaps, the authors developed a needs analysis questionnaire assessing the necessity of a creativity module for primary school…

The Economic Actions in Education training module (EAE) teaches how to handle, use and judge external standardized tests in schools. The EAE programme was implemented in teacher training at the University of Kiel, because teachers are increasingly under external scrutiny and are being held accountable for student and school achievements. The EAE…

Peer assessment typically requires students to judge peers' work against assessment criteria. We tested an alternative approach in which students judged pairs of scripts against one another in the absence of assessment criteria. First year mathematics undergraduates (N?=?194) sat a written test on conceptual understanding of multivariable…

The purpose of this article is to address a major gap in the instructional sensitivity literature on how to develop instructionally sensitive assessments. We propose an approach to developing and evaluating instructionally sensitive assessments in science and test this approach with one elementary life-science module. The assessment we developed…

Student perceptions of classroom environment can provide useful criteria for evaluating educational alternatives. The My Class Inventory (MCI) was used with 588 3rd- to 5th-grade students in Texas in evaluating the effectiveness of instruction using a textbook, science kits, or a combination of both. Various analyses attested to the factorial…

The learning module described is for elementary or secondary level teachers who wish to improve their understanding of the meaning of test reliability and validity. The contents of the module are outlined, and activities and resources involved in its use are described. Ordering information on materials is provided, and a critique of the module is…

This unit of work is designed to provide the participant with an overview of the purposes, methods, and techniques for testing English as a Second Language (ESL) and practical classroom applications. Given the series of learning alternatives on testing that are presented in this module, the participant should be able to: (a) demonstrate knowledge…

This module contains resource materials to help vocational education teachers construct effective written tests. (The materials supplement the videotape on "Written Test Construction.") Materials in the packet include guidelines for developing written tests in general and specific guidelines for the five major types of test items, brief…

A project was undertaken to refine an existing self-assessment system and to develop self-paced learning modules for use in the continuing education of physician assistants (PA). Included among the major activities of the project were the following: (1) modification of the existing criterion-referenced Physician Assistant Self-Assessment…

In the evaluation of Project Information Packages (PIPs), a content analysis was performed to detect congruence between items in a norm-referenced test and the content in six exemplary compensatory education program curricula. Gains on congruent items were used to assess the effectiveness of the programs. Preliminary results show that the amount…

This module, the fourth of four units about vocational competency measurement, is module 20 in the Vocational Education Curriculum Specialist series. The purpose stated for the document is to help in the validation of a competency test after it has been developed, in the determination of how test results will be reported, and in the consideration…

A project sought (1) to provide vocational units of study geared to the readability levels of all students in high school vocational education and (2) to develop an instrument to measure achievement in vocational education with this same element of readability in mind. Pre- and posttests measuring vocational achievement and reading levels…

This report presents the design, procedures, and findings of the advanced testing of 100 modules in a set of performance-based vocational teacher education curricular materials. (The modules are based on 384 secondary/postsecondary level performance elements, including program, instructional, and other elements.) In the first of five sections the…

The document is the final in a series of four competency-based modules produced for use with inservice teacher education programs in consumer education. The main objective of the program is to assist curriculum developers and elementary and secondary classroom teachers as they plan, develop, implement, and evaluate a multidisciplinary consumer…