Paragraphs from students' writings are cited to exemplify specific benefits students derive from the opportunity to write without fear of grades or criticism. (HTH)

Describes a grading option used by technical writing faculty members at Ohio State University that allows students to complete reports on their own in order to learn to work without supervision. (FL)

Provides a brief overview of the literacy assessment procedures and processes many teachers are now using to gather information about what their young students know and can do. Describes techniques for gathering information about young children's literacy development, and notes its usefulness to teachers. (SR)

Considers how to transfer a community fund-raising motivational tool to the classroom. Describes the Hoppin' Frog Contest, a project in which students work to earn "miles" instead of working for grades. (SG)

Provides a description of how nongraded, descriptive assessment works in responding to the written assignments of some postgraduate students. (HOD)

Ungraded writing is a way of increasing the amount of writing by geography students without unduly burdening the teacher. Two examples of ungraded writing assignments are described: in-class writing and periodic writing in a private journal. (RM)

The purpose of this instrument is to supplement data from the Adult Basic Learning Examination in assessing the functional level of adults in daily situations. It may also be used as a teaching tool for adults requesting tutoring in specific concepts and skills presented in the instrument. This instrument is an informal assessment instrument and…

Presents a sequence of activities to teach reading strategies and describes the steps that classroom teachers should carry out for its implementation. Offers suggestions derived from the authors' experiences with the activities described and discusses methods for the assessment of students' discrete and global skills. (Author/MES)

Presents suggestions for using math performance assessments in elementary classrooms to help students develop mathematical thinking skills. The article lists National Council of Teachers of Mathematics evaluation standards for mathematics assessment and describes a number of problem-solving activities for students. (SM)

Authentic assessment, as referred to in this book, encompasses meaningful tasks, positive interaction between teachers and students, methods that emphasize higher-order thinking skills, and strategies that allow students to plan, monitor, and evaluate their own learning. Most important, authentic assessment means helping students to apply and…

The essentials of Piaget's theory and its application to teaching at the college level are described as part of the Learning and Evaluation Service workshop, Teaching Students to Reason, offered at Michigan State University. Objectives are to enable the teacher to: (1) diagnose and classify reasoning patterns of students; (2) evaluate current…