This paper discusses issues of assessment, accountability, and preservice teacher preparation using electronic portfolios (e-portfolios). It discusses criteria for portfolio design and trends in e-portfolio use to collect evidence of the competencies of preservice teachers that are related to teaching standards. The paper also discusses the…

Achieving a fair and objective evaluation of teacher performance is not easy. Student test results have been used to assess teacher performance, but this approach has many weaknesses, especially because students differ from school to school and standardized tests are open to questions about their fairness. Criterion-referenced tests have been…

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…

This volume contains articles about writing, best practice, portfolio assessment, and technology, as well as original poetry and book reviews. Articles in the volume are: "Teaching Writing: Making Connections" (Eric Schott); "Empowering Teachers: A Success Story" (Sandra L. Krivak); "Bridging the Gap between the Classroom and Employment" (Linda C.…

In 1997, the Education Department of Western Australia, in conjunction with the teachers' union, initiated a trial project to establish a career path for teachers. Standards are to be set for the career path for three stages: (1) entry to Level 1; (2) transition from Level 1 to 2; and (3) transition from Level 2 to 3. This paper discusses the…

This study examined the relationship between personality characteristics and National Board Certification among teachers who had achieved National Board Certification, teachers who were in the process of completing the requirements for National Board Certification, and teachers who had not attempted National Board Certification. It identified…

This paper explores and explains the validity and value of the experiential learning portfolio as an effective tool for workplace learning and development. Qualitative and survey methods of inquiry were used to produce data on the portfolio in workplace learning. Eight workers who developed experiential learning portfolios as a component of their…

This document focuses on assessment portfolios and examines the advantages and challenges of using an assessment portfolio system inclusive of English language learners as a district-wide assessment tool. Advantages of including English language learners in the assessment program include increased school accountability for all students, a shared…

Educators have understood the potential of technology in supplementing the instructional process, including the use of technology in the area of assessment. Technology used with good testing practices offers some capabilities that add value to educational assessment. These include: accessibility; immediate feedback; ability to use new assessment…

Exposing preservice interns to the process of portfolio development encourages these teachers in training to reflect on their knowledge, skills, and classroom practices as they evaluate their abilities. As an assessment tool, portfolios can be used to emphasize the connection to professional standards and reflect the maturity of academic decisions…

Observes how nine members of the Pine View High School English Department interpreted and implemented Kentucky's state requirement for portfolio assessment of secondary school students. Suggests that the faculty saw the assessment as a test of their competence and felt great pressure to produce good portfolios but little incentive to explore ways…

Asks if there is a place for portfolio assessment in the literature classroom. Finds that portfolios help students use writing to engage literary texts in multiple and productive ways, and offer opportunities to examine effects of the reading process over the course of the writing pieces. Argues for a particular kind of portfolio focusing on a…

Contrasts traditional U.S. educational assessment with alternative or authentic assessment. Examples of alternative assessment are provided from a study of portfolio-writing assessment in which students were evaluated on the basis of carefully revised work collected over an entire school term. Discusses three ways in which alternative assessment…

Presents brief annotations of 20 books and journal articles (published between 1967 and 1997) identified by the contributors to this themed issue as useful for the work they present in this issue. (SR)

Investigates the impact of portfolio assessment strategies on second graders' perceptions of themselves as writers. Finds that the process had positive effects on students' perceptions of themselves as writers; their ability to describe strengths and weaknesses in their writing; their ability to identify changes in themselves as writers; and their…