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…

Addresses concerns when a college-level course utilizes a number of instructors and sections. Notes the importance of the various sections receiving essentially the same educational experience. Describes section variation trends. Discusses use of the computer assisted speech evaluation software at Texas Christian University. Recommends the use of…

Interviews four principals in a Midwestern state to identify key concepts and information that P-12 school administrators desire in a job search teaching portfolio. Identifies elements, protocol, and possible standards of use. Notes a computer program was created to incorporate the identified elements and protocol for preservice teachers. Finds…

Examines whether first-year composition students at two state universities believe that portfolios are as effective for students as composition instructors widely assume them to be. Investigates the assumption in composition pedagogy that portfolios are good for students' writing and that students like and appreciate the opportunity to be in a…

Discusses using two alternative assessment methods, journals and portfolios, with preservice teachers in an elementary mathematics methods course. (Contains 13 references.) (ASK)

Describes the use of portfolios to assess very young children and communicate with parents at the Maryland School for the Deaf. Describes portfolio components (observational records, checklists, samples of student work, and a video documenting the child's behavior and skills). Includes tips for incorporating portfolios into the classroom and…

Examines the use of teaching portfolios in preservice teacher education programs, analyzing the various ways in which portfolios have been conceptualized and implemented. The paper proposes a conceptual framework to enable researchers to describe the conditions of portfolio use and discusses key issues that have emerged in the use of teaching…

Developed and calibrated health-related fitness portfolios for elementary students using the Rasch model, examining advantages and disadvantages. Physical educators graded the portfolios. Rating scores were analyzed using the Rasch model. Results indicate that using Rasch calibration, measurement problems related to conventional practice can be…

Discusses several new assessment strategies that encourage meaningful learning and conceptual understanding in biological science. Introduces evaluation and measurement techniques that help students assimilate well-integrated, strongly cohesive frameworks of interrelated concepts as a way of facilitating 'real understanding' of natural phenomena.…

Discusses the use of portfolios to evaluate student work, evaluates a Web-based learning portfolio, analyzes its impact on students' learning processes, reports on the validity and reliability of the questionnaire used in the evaluation study, proposes suggestions for revisions, and recommends future research. (LRW)

This article addresses the choice of the most appropriate procedure for the assessment of portfolios used in teacher and lecturer assessment. A characteristic of modern assessment modes, including portfolios, is that the information they provide is often qualitative and derived from different contexts. Unambiguous, objective rating of portfolios…

Among the criticisms often made of high-stakes assessments in the United States is that they promote "teaching to the test." There is little question that, under pressure to produce higher test scores, schools tend to implement more standardized curriculums that are geared toward preparing students to perform well on year-end tests.…

In this article, a general elementary music teacher describes the steps involved in becoming a national board certified teacher. The author describes the steps there are to becoming certified including registering with the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). She mentions the scholarship or loan programs available to help…

Student portfolios are an alternative authentic assessment method that invites active student learning and provides an opportunity for instructors to tailor assessment strategies based on student-learning outcomes.

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.)