If a district head or state superintendent wanted to intensify the focus of his curriculum on 21st century skills, he would do well to pay a visit to Tucson's Catalina Foothills School District (CFSD). There on the Arizona city's northeastern edge, educators and administrators have decided to go all in on 21st century skills, and in so doing have…

The augmented theory of successful intelligence [Sternberg, R. J. (2003b). "Wisdom, intelligence, and creativity synthesized." New York: Cambridge University Press] postulates that intelligence comprises creative skills in generating novel ideas; analytical skills in discerning whether they are good ideas; practical skills in implementing the…

The purpose of this document is to describe the US ED growth model pilot program from its inception to the point at which the program was no longer a pilot and was opened up to all states. In addition, the paper is designed to help states in the process of planning to submit a growth model proposal. The information in this document is mostly…

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…

Many English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students who seek admittance to a university where English is the medium of instruction do not have sufficient language skills to understand lectures, comprehend textbooks, participate in class discussions, or generate satisfactory written work. Oftentimes, they have only experienced teacher-centered…

Purpose: This paper aims to describe the activities designed and conducted with primary school, secondary school and university students to study the integration of alternative assessment and self-assessment online tools in mathematics courses using iTest. iTest is an educational software tool born to support the continuous evaluation system…

The Bologna Declaration brought reforms into higher education that imply changes in teaching methods, didactic materials and textbooks, infrastructures and laboratories, etc. Statistics and mathematics are disciplines that traditionally have the worst success rates, particularly in non-mathematics core curricula courses. This research project,…

Describes a project which examined how portfolios give students opportunities to (1) select items that show who they are, (2) set goals for their own growth, and (3) discover the significance of their decisions. Discusses the experiences of sixth graders, first graders, special education students, and the teachers. (PRA)

This annotated bibliography of material from the ERIC database presents 37 annotations on the topic of outcome-based education. The annotated bibliography contains listings for a wide range of materials, including journal articles, books, reports, practica, conference papers, and dissertations. (RS)

This book explains some basic assumptions that underlie different assessment systems, some connections between education and assessment, and some assessment options that have gone unrecognized. The discussion serves as a guide to designing a custom assessment program individualized to fit the students, school, and community. Part 2 contains…

In September 2002, the Maine Department of Education began organizing an Exhibition Assessment Advisory Committee whose purpose it was to consider meaningful ways to include exhibition assessments in comprehensive local assessment systems. School administrators were invited to participate and/or nominate practitioners in their districts to become…

As part of a state-mandated assessment process, faculty and students need innovative approaches which can empower them to learn, grow, and change in the classroom. The University of Missouri-Kansas City Department of Communication Studies uses three types of student portfolios: (1) a university-wide portfolio of the student's work in all courses…

This paper focuses on the use of alternative assessments at the state level with a focus on the Connecticut experience. Judging from the size of audiences attending sessions on alternative assessments at national conferences and the numbers of articles appearing on performance assessment in recent educational journals, it is obvious that there is…

Describes a program intended to help students reflect on, discuss, and evaluate their reading and their accomplishments related to reading. Notes that the program uses a set of materials and procedures based on a Native American winter count (an animal hide or cloth on which the Yankton Sioux recorded important events). (SR)

Outlines the potential for using whole language for remediation of reading disabilities. Criticizes current approaches to remediation. Discusses six principles of whole language instruction that are effective for remediation. Describes four whole-language programs that have successfully remediated students. Suggests alternative assessment…