The challenges of teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic were multiple and accompanied by dramatic changes in the experiences of students, faculty, and administration. However, this year also offered us an opportunity to be creative and generate new ideas to solve problems we knew about but often did not have enough of a reason to make significant…

As noted in "Beyond Crossroads" (AMATYC, 2006), for today's students, learning mathematics is participatory and depends on the active involvement of students (p. 53). The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics shares the point of view that the teaching and learning of mathematics should include giving students ample opportunity to think…

This article aims to solve the following problematic issue: how the most essential elements of student learning achievement evaluation should be properly designed? The answers are pursued by the validation of identification of evaluation types, formulation of evaluation criteria and choice of assessment methods. Designing of the most essential…

It is widely accepted that assessment has a great influence on the quality of learning. Assessment can be a powerful tool for improving students' learning and motivation. It also helps in developing a positive and supportive learning environment. The present paper briefly outlines the original assessment arrangements for a cross-department…

A long-held ambition for many educators and assessment experts has been to integrate summative and formative assessments so that data from external assessments used for system monitoring may also be used to shape teaching and learning in classrooms. In turn, classroom-based assessments may provide valuable data for decision makers at school and…

Criticizes attempts by states to institute statewide testing programs as a means of improving school accountability. Discusses various examples of how this is being carried out. Presents four recommendations for testing programs. (HB)

The two models for group exams described here employ these exams as both a formative strategy for assessing student understanding of key course material and preparing students for further class activities and a summative strategy for evaluating student learning and assigning grades.

Presents examples of how regular classroom-based assessment can be incorporated into foreign language classroom activities, without compromising teaching and learning time, through methods involving student self-assessment, improved assessment tools, small-group practice and testing, and multiple use of standard forms and materials. (CB)

This paper looks at using collective critical thinking about issues as an assessment technique instead of or in addition to written tests. A substantial literature review examines the role of assessment and alternative strategies such as group oral exams in classes where cooperative activities and learning have been emphasized. The review reveals…

Selective Testing provides students with equivalent test options that control the sequence and quantification of individual items. Essay and objective test construction is modified to allow the student to combine units and create an individualized test. An example of a test on the American Revolution is presented. (FG)

Describes the California Assessment Program's (CAP) group performance assessment task. Provides a sample task field test in world history, including written and culminating exercises. Suggests that such assessment exercises are popular with students and provide the teacher with an amalgam of curriculum, instruction, and assessment. (DK)

When one instructor began to use cooperative learning groups as a main teaching strategy in teacher education courses, she designed a large group oral exam format to take the place of traditional paper-and-pencil testing. The group oral exam format reduced text anxiety as there was no right or wrong response; it drew on both the cognitive and…

This paper describes networking evaluation, an alternative to traditional evaluation, in which students work cooperatively in small groups to solve specific problems and are evaluated collectively by their teacher. Steps in the networking evaluation model are: (1) explaining the networking concept to students and preparing them for the evaluation;…

This booklet reports on the 1994 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in geography for 4th, 8th, and 12th grade students, a test given for the first time to establish baseline data for measuring student progress in geography well into the future. The booklet contains the following sections: (1) Why We Assess Geography; (2) The 1994…

This booklet reports on the 1994 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in U.S. History for 4th, 8th, and 12th grade students. The booklet contains the following sections: (1) Why We Assess History; (2) Preparing the 1994 NAEP U.S. History Assessment; (3) What is NAEP? (4) Creating a Framework for the U.S. History Assessment, with What…