This report describes a program for increasing students' intrinsic motivation in an effort to increase academic achievement. The targeted population consisted of secondary level students in a middle to upper-middle class suburban area. The students of the targeted secondary level classes appeared to be disengaged from learning due to a lack of…

How the use of portfolios in the classroom will influence the higher order thinking skills is the main focus of this project. The introduction of portfolios as assessment tools is rather new to educational research, but does offer a legitimate area for serious study. Portfolios when used by students can offer them not only a way to showcase their…

This study describes a program designed to alter instructional and assessment processes in mathematics in order to increase comprehension levels and engagement in mathematics. The targeted population consists of high school students in a community located in the western suburbs of a large metropolitan area. The socio-economic status of the…

This report describes a program that was implemented to improve student assessment through the use of portfolios. The targeted population consisted of a first and third grade classroom in a suburb of a large Midwestern metropolitan area. The problems related to assessment were documented by state mandated test scores, teacher determined grades,…

This action research project implemented and evaluated a portfolio program for assessing student performance. The targeted population consisted of elementary and middle grade students in two schools. The inadequacy of traditional evaluation methods was documented by means of parent and staff surveys. Common discrepancies were found in student…

This report describes alternative assessment approaches to elementary visual art studies at an inner-city school in a large city in the Midwest. Sixth-grade neighborhood students participated in the study. Data revealed that sixth-grade students have spent little time on alternative assessment. Time constraints, a lack of curriculum addressing…

This report describes a program for increasing reading test scores. The targeted population consisted of one second-grade, one third-grade, and two fourth-grade classrooms in a growing middle class community located in a far western suburb of Chicago, Illinois. The problem of low reading test scores was documented though the 1995 IGAP scores on…

A study investigated the effectiveness of an intervention for improving adolescent writing and speaking using mathematical language. The targeted population consists of high school students in a growing, middle- and upper-middle-class, suburban community located west of Chicago, Illinois. The problems of writing and speaking using mathematical…

This report described a program to improve student writing ability. The targeted population consisted of first and third grade students in a middle class community, located in the Midwest. The problem of inadequate writing and the results of the interventions were documented. Analysis of probable cause data revealed that students lacked positive…

This paper describes a study that evaluated a program in which students' reading and writing skills improved with the enhancement of various interventions related to reading and writing. The targeted population consisted of elementary students enrolled in first and third grades in northern Illinois. The lack of reading and writing success was…

This report describes a plan for using student portfolios as a tool for authentic assessment. The targeted population was classes of 5th, 8th, and 12th graders in 3 urban school settings. The three teachers involved felt that current assessment methods were inadequate for measuring student learning. Analysis of the data showed that current…

This paper describes a plan for assessing academic and social growth of special education students. The targeted population consisted of six elementary students with hearing impairments and seven high school students with mental impairments. The problems of assessing special education students were documented through data collected from teacher…

This report describes the implementation of portfolio assessment in order for students and parents to become more aware of students' academic growth in writing for first/second grade students and math for seventh grade students. The targeted population consisted of elementary and middle school students in two middle class communities, located in…

This report describes a program for increasing student ownership and responsibility to bring about quality work. The students were actively involved in the collaborative assessment process. The targeted population consisted of first and second grade students in a middle class community in Central Illinois. An increased sense of ownership,…

This report describes a program for improving the on-task behavior of at-risk students to increase their academic achievement. The targeted population consisted of high-school students in a growing middle-class community located in a rural area of a midwestern state. The problems of academic under-achievement were documented through data including…