Many quality assurance systems rely on high-stakes assessment for course certification. Such methods are not as objective as they might appear; they can have detrimental effects on student motivation and may lack relevance to the needs of degree courses increasingly oriented to vocational utility. "Alternative assessment" methods can…

The authors address considerations and promising practices relating to assessment of d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing Multilingual Learners. DMLs' unique culture(s), language(s), and learning needs must be considered when assessments of this population are being planned, conducted, and interpreted. The authors address theory and research on (a) general…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), signed into law in December 2015, is the latest reauthorization of one of the most influential pieces of federal education legislation, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The law had not been reauthorized since 2001 when the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was signed, and ESSA is the result of…

The educational system perpetuates social injustice through structural inequities of assessment and evaluation. High-stakes standardized testing has a destructive effect on teaching and learning that affects all students, teachers, and schools; it is particularly damaging for disadvantaged students--minorities, students with disabilities, students…

Recent educational developments such as constructivism and multiple intelligence theories as well as society requested new trends engendered to radical change in traditional approaches of instruction and assessment. For this reason, alternative assessment approaches are needed in assessing both learning process and learning product. Nowadays, one…

This article looks at the controversial starting of testing, its boycott, the subsequent years of protest and, in October 2008, the apparent end of key stage examining in England. It considers a possible alternative to the tests based on a project carried out at King's College London based on portfolio assessment.

Conventional assessments do not meet the cognitive demands of the world today. WICS, an acronym for wisdom, intelligence, and creativity, synthesized, can provide a more meaningful model. Findings from the Rainbow Project, conducted by the Center for the Psychology of Abilities, Competencies, and Expertise, showed that assessing students for…

Standard classroom tests tend to showcase what students know at that point in time and do not usually reflect real-life mathematics. They are not always accurate indicators of what students understand and how they understand it. Portfolios are tools that allow students a better opportunity to exhibit mathematical growth in understanding and…

Describes one teacher's implementation of portfolio assessment in high school chemistry classrooms in an effort to hold students accountable for more than mere factual recall and to involve students proactively in the assessment process. Discusses the setting, the portfolio, evaluation, and outcomes. (JRH)

Describes the use of portfolios in grading and assessment. Discusses advantages of portfolio assessment, Showcase Portfolios, Checklist Portfolios, Open-Format Portfolios, student self-reflection, portfolio scoring, and student perceptions of portfolios. (JRH)

Alternative assessment ideas are presented in an effort to help teachers understand how and why alternative assessment is necessary. Suggestions for preservice teachers in mathematics that meet the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Assessment Standards are included. Portfolios and reflection rubrics are presented as possible…

Claims that asking students to evaluate their own reading and writing encourages more authentic assessment. Discusses guiding reflection in writing and reading workshops, and teacher responsibility for grading. Presents student comments that show students are able to self-evaluate and improve their efforts to justify higher ratings. (RS)

Addresses the traditional understanding of reliability as it pertains to writing portfolio assessments. Offers a list of practical actions that can be taken to increase assessment reliability, including explicit definitions of what a portfolio holds, rater training, rater burnout, and consistent rating procedures. (Contains 26 references.) (NB)

Describes an outcomes assessment plan developed by the Lake Land College (Illinois) nursing program, which is organized around formative and summative evaluations of twelve graduate program outcomes. Quantitative and qualitative data collected by students are submitted in a portfolio format. The faculty tool for assessing the portfolios is…

Sometimes a radical shift in assessment procedures may uncover a whole new set of objectives that neither the students nor the instructor expected. Such an experience is described in the context of freshman mathematics. (Contains 1 table.)