"Voice" is widely considered to be a feature of effective writing. It's no surprise, then, that voice criteria frequently appear on rubrics used to score student essays in large-scale writing assessments. However, composition theorists hold vastly different views regarding voice and how it should be applied in the evaluation of student writing, if…

Two experiments studied teachers' proficiency in assessing students' higher order thinking skills. After training alone or after training plus implementation of an instructional unit on correlational thinking, teacher ratings of student samples did not correspond highly with an expert's assessment although they showed sensitivity to student age…

Increased academic standards in midwifery education are causing conflict between research-based and traditional knowledge used in clinical assessments. Training of evaluators, frequent changes in clinical placements, and lack of contact between students and evaluators also impinge on the validity and reliability of assessments. (SK)

Compares the responses of administrators, teachers, parents, and students to a questionnaire about purposes, communication qualities, effects, and philosophy of student evaluations. Suggests evaluations can serve as positive educational motivators that reward student efforts and enhance student learning, while avoiding critical, negative,…

The role of school psychologists and counselors in assessment is well established. With the current emphasis on collaboration in schools and the use of a pupil services model to deliver services, it is important to examine ways in which school psychologists and counselors can work together for assessment purposes. School psychologists' involvement…

Although experiential education is really the oldest approach to learning, its practitioners have not had an easy time justifying its relevance in the modern educational world. Recent changes in the methodologies of evaluation have provided useful tools for experiential educators. Such tools can be used to refine programming, enhance student…

School psychologists can play a unique role in schools because of their assessment expertise. Traditionally, they have been most involved in individual psychoeducational assessment for classification and labeling purposes, but the limitations of this form of assessment for building intervention strategies has led many school psychologists to…

The overall assessment of teacher education students by means of testing may not be the best indicator of competence in a professional field. Assessors must possess both valid and reliable ways of discerning which students have the necessary skills to be effective in the classroom. Portfolio analysis is one way to get better, more valid data about…