This article attempts to introduce parents of gifted students to the basics of performance-based assessment, authentic assessment, and portfolio assessment. A list of suggested questions is provided for parents to ask educators in the areas of alternative assessment measures, evaluation criteria, grading guidelines, and other problematic issues.…

Discusses the four-week summer Memphis (Tennessee) Urban Writing Institute, during which a furor erupted over the dilemma of grading. Provide a number of approaches to grading students' writing, including minimalist grading, cassette grading, collaborative grading, and portfolio grading. Suggests that teachers consider the grading dilemma and…

Presents a report of the Association of Departments of English's (ADE) investigation of issues and procedures concerning assessment in English departments. Offers advice to educators, based on information from department chairs and colleagues. (TB)

Explores how higher education institutions can develop a conceptual model for enhancing student learning and retention by merging the academic and student affairs unit, highlighting such efforts at Olivet College, Michigan. The article presents the societal context and guiding assumptions as they relate to the complex tasks of merging both…

Illustrates dilemmas of "self" and "other" through memories of the author's relationship with her grandmother. Discusses assessment involving three close encounters: a reflective encounter (self to self); a reflexive encounter (self to other); and a dialectical encounter (a teacher who can act as mediator between self and other). (SR)

Incorporates and integrates various aspects of portfolio development, implementation, and evaluation into a portfolio model for the evaluation of counselors-in-training. Considers ethical implications and the importance of providing feedback to students. Also outlines the structure of and the time involved in the evaluation process. (RJM)

Investigated the attitudes of Finnish kindergarten teacher education students toward portfolios. Examined individual profiles of 5 students who completed portfolios for 3 years. Considered student responses in terms of seven themes: personal development, professional development, thinking skills, learning, collection of portfolio material,…

Investigated portfolios as a means of generating the evidence necessary to make judgments about student teachers' teaching and understanding. Data from institutions currently using portfolios indicated that teacher educators focused on rallying evidence that students were meeting standards without much opportunity for meaningful dialogue about…

Outlines the pre-service program at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, in which technology is a feature of the preservice teachers' first experiences in order to provide them with early opportunities to acquire technological literacy. Explains that throughout the Instructional Technologies course, undergraduate students focus on the use of…

Discusses the development of digital portfolios as part of one university's authentic preservice teacher assessment. Grant money funded a pilot program that facilitated the development of performance outcomes based on NCATE standards for teacher candidates, revealed implementation issues, directed the construction of scoring rubrics, and guided…

Of 60 Iranian female sophomores learning English, an experimental group (n=30) was assessed with teacher-made tests and portfolios, 30 controls with tests only. Portfolio assessment contributed to achievement and student responsibility for learning. Portfolio scores correlated significantly with test scores; high interrater reliability was…

Explores the growing body of theory supporting the use of portfolios in student evaluations, including a review of the method's theoretical underpinnings and an account of additional supporting evidence. Suggests that portfolios provide students with a sense of ownership over their writing and creates an introspective classroom community. (18…

Discusses how a high school English teacher expanded the audiences for her students' writing by developing an advanced senior writing seminar and using portfolios, peer evaluation, and parent participation. Notes that a community formed and was held together by mutual respect. (RS)

A kindergarten teacher used portfolio assessment with her students. After researching portfolios, she compiled a list of components for her classes and began the school year. She found that students were enthusiastic about portfolios, parents felt portfolios told more than report cards, and she could better see student growth. (Author/SM)

Summarizes the status of assessment reform, based on visits to 14 schools. Documents key characteristics of various performance assessments (portfolios, on-demand tasks, projects, exhibitions, and teachers' structured observations); determines which factors influence their development, implementation, and effectiveness; and analyzes interactions…