This article examines the meanings and impact of "Assessment for Learning" initiatives in schools against the back drop of assessment reform in Singapore since 1997. It is argued that "Assessment for Learning" is understood in different ways, and these different meanings do not always benefit students' learning. The different…

This report discusses five issue areas in which it is believed substantial improvements in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) might be achieved. The unifying themes among these issues are to increase the visibility of NAEP, its relevance to policymakers, and its utility to state and local agencies. The first of five substantive…

Toledo's competency-based teacher education program has met with remarkable success, measurable in many different ways. (LH)

Policy decision makers, early educators, and early interventionists face numerous challenges as they develop and implement statewide accountability systems to evaluate and improve children's early intervention and early childhood special education outcomes. Kansas was an early adopter of the Child Outcomes Summary Form (COSF) developed by the…

The author presents testimony on the value of process indicators--i.e., measures of the services the education system is actually providing--for improving educational governance. He states that the case in favor of process indicators can be summarized in terms of three propositions. First, information about system performance is critical for…

Reports of declining test scores and high school graduates who can't read or compute have triggered a public demand for higher standards in education. In light of this demand, National Assessment re-examined its role with respect to raising educational quality in this country. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) asked seven…

This report provides a blueprint for reorganizing the governing structure of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and suggests new procedures of test development and test administration that will increase the interpretability of the assessment while at the same time making more staff and monetary resources available for research…

All postsecondary institutions in Tennessee have the opportunity to earn an annual budget supplement for instruction from the state if certain criteria, based on educational outcomes, are obtained. A comprehensive assessment program at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville is described. (MLW)

The practice profile is a standardized, systematic, cost-effective tool for summarizing the components and requirements of a program in a manner that permits comparison with other programs or selection of discrete components from various programs. It provides a component checklist, a precise list of implementation requirements, and a system for…

This paper outlines the role that Forest School can play in children's development. With over 100 Forest Schools in England, 20 in Scotland and 20 in Wales, this concept is growing across Britain. Forest School involves children having regular contact with woodland over an extended period of time; it allows them to become familiar, and have…

This paper surveys some of the teaching methods, learning activities, and programs either proposed or already used by some Pennsylvania schools to improve their students' performance on the Educational Quality Assessment. The assessment, mandated by Pennsylvania statute, measures student achievement in ten goal areas, such as self-esteem, verbal…

A comprehensive assessment of the career education programs offered in the school districts in Michigan was conducted, based on the assumption that the lack of systematically organized needs data for appropriate decisionmaking groups may be an obstruction to the statewide implementation of career education. A questionnaire instrument was…

Head Start's 15 years of service are reviewed and future recommendations are presented in this report requested by the President of the United States. The program's successes include: (1) providing health care services to the poor; (2) effecting long-lasting educational gains for children; (3) fostering parent involvement; (4) promoting the career…

The purpose of this paper is to explore the principles of Assessment for Learning (AFL) in light of John Dewey's writing about the purpose and possibility of education. In this paper, we compare Dewey's ideas to the goals of assessment for learning (AFL)--a practice emerging globally and, more locally, moved forward by the Alberta Initiative for…

A study was conducted of the early childhood programs in the McAllen (Texas) Independent School District. This qualitative study used data collected through observations, interviews, document analysis, questionnaires, and site visits. Current practices were described and compared to developmentally appropriate practices as defined by the National…