Assessment of student learning outcomes can be a powerful tool for improvement of instruction when a scientific approach is taken; unfortunately, many educators do not take full advantage of this approach. This article examines benefits of taking a scientific approach to critical thinking assessment and proposes guidelines for planning,…

The primary purpose of a literature review is to assist readers in understanding the whole body of available research on a topic, informing readers on the strengths and weaknesses of studies within that body. It is defined by its guiding concept or topical focus: an account of what was previously published on a specific topic. This prevents…

A comprehensive assessment system is one in which three types of assessments: summative, benchmark, and formative assessments are routinely administered to all students in K-12 classrooms. The first part of this report summarizes the research on comprehensive assessment systems and provides clarity in terms of how each individual assessment type…

Combining diverse methods in a single study raises a problem: What should be done when the findings of one method of investigation conflict with those of another? We illustrate this problem using an example in which three study phases--quantitative, qualitative, and intervention--were applied. The findings coming from the quantitative phase did…