This study illustrates the development and validation of an admission test, labeled as Performance Samples on Academic Tasks in Educational Sciences (PSAT-Ed), designed to assess samples of performance on academic tasks characteristic of those that would eventually be encountered by examinees in an Educational Sciences program. The test was based…

This article explores the role of voluntary quality assessments in higher education, underscoring their main features and potentialities, and showing that basic principles and guidelines can be customised in different countries or single institutions. The article extensively presents an assessment project developed at the University of Siena, the…

The Clinical Practice Assessment System (CPAS), developed in response to teacher preparation program accreditation requirements, represents a paradigm shift of one university toward data-based decision-making in teacher education programs. The new assessment system is a scale aligned with INTASC Standards, which allows for observation and…

This article argues that a "probabilistic" interpretation of competence can provide the basis for a link between assessment, teaching and learning, curriculum resources and policy development. Competence is regarded as a way of interpreting the quality of performance in a coherent series of hierarchical tasks. The work of Glaser is combined with…

Focuses on the performance assessment of the practical component in science education, discussing changes over the years in the rationale and methodology of large-scale performance assessment. Illustrates these changes by comparing the Second International Science Study (1984) with the Third International Science and Mathematics Study. Contains 77…

Used data from a classroom-based performance assessment to document the impact of participation in a short-term educational program, the LinkUP! program. Participants were students in 32 classes in fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. The study provides an example of the use of classroom-based performance data for program evaluation purposes. (SLD)

Peer assessment can be a valuable learning tool in teacher education because it supports student teachers to acquire skills that are essential in their professional working life. This article presents a conceptual framework in which the training of peer assessment skills by means of peer assessment tasks is integrated in teacher education courses.…

Discusses the kinds of abilities and knowledge that are measured in investigative performance assessment tasks in science. Questions the emphasis placed on the assessment of problem-solving and higher-order skills and calls for a rationale for performance assessment in the dimension of "scientific argumentation." (SLD)

Instruction and learning are increasingly based on competencies, causing a call for assessment methods to adequately determine competency acquisition. Because competency assessment is such a complex endeavor, one single assessment method seems not to be sufficient. This necessitates Competency Assessment Programs (CAPS) that combine different…

Describes the problems inherent in scoring performance assessment on a large scale, focusing on the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and scoring for Israeli students. In spite of the weaknesses in the scoring approach, the effort seems to have empowered teachers. (SLD)

This article examines the relationships between perceptions of authenticity and alignment on study approach and learning outcome. Senior students of a vocational training program performed an authentic assessment and filled in a questionnaire about the authenticity of various assessment characteristics and the alignment between the assessment and…

A new definition of quality education based on performance and achievement is surfacing in Des Moines (Iowa). School restructuring is focusing stakeholder attention on systemic changes that mean that the quality of education will be judged on how students have been prepared for life. Restructuring efforts are outlined. (SLD)

For the most part, the performance of U.S. students on the main part of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) failed to meet expected standards, and results of the TIMSS performance assessment do not give much cause for celebration either. (SLD)

This paper explores assessment issues that are problematic in a performance-based subject in a school-based assessment context, that of secondary school physical education in Queensland (Australia). A strength of the program has been its movement toward authentic assessment characterized by relevant tasks. (SLD)

Describes the design of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and results for Dutch students in grade 8. Presents these results in an international perspective and discusses differences between the results of these Dutch students on the written test (far above the international mean) and in the performance assessment (close…