Considers the use of multiple forms of assessment in the social studies classroom. Focuses on writing assessments, such as response notebooks and the I-Search essay, utilizing a rubric, the change in student projects that accompanies the incorporation of multiple assessments, and changes in tests and quizzes. Provides three recommendations for…

Teachers deserve objective evaluations that will help them to improve. Delaware uses a four-point rubric ranging from "unsatisfactory" to "needs improvement,""effective," and "exemplary." Teachers' placement depends on frequency of demonstrated behaviors identified in each rubric. For lower ratings, the…

Examines the need for teaching Web site evaluation and discusses varied approaches to Web site evaluation. Focuses on the course module "Evaluating Web Resources." Poses a possible format for citing Web sites. Describes an assignment that provides a way for assessing students' ability to evaluate a Web site. (CMK)

Classroom-based assessment is the collection and evaluation of evidence of student learning, focusing on indicators of meaningful and valuable student progress. This type of assessment includes alternative forms of testing, such as performance tasks, which allow students to communicate or display mastery in different forms. According to Herman,…

In his February 2004 Kappan article, Mike Schmoker called into question the effectiveness of many of the major reform efforts of the past two decades. In particular he made the case that strategic planning efforts and whole-school reform efforts have been mostly ineffective because planning cycles are too long and implementation is too complex and…

Three studies were conducted using the interpersonal grid, a method for assessing perceptions of agentic and communal behavior based on the interpersonal circumplex. The 1st examined consistency across perceivers and convergence between perceiver and the perceived person. The 2nd examined whether responses to the interpersonal grid were sensitive…

The ability to write tight, concise, and accurate summaries of texts is often a struggle for our students. With specific focus on precis writing, the authors used the GIST (Generating Interaction between Schemata and Text) learning strategy to increase comprehension of expository texts. By breaking down texts into logical sections and writing…

The paper introduces a set of formative assessment tasks and rubrics that were developed for use in an introductory physics instruction to help students acquire and self-assess various scientific process abilities. We will describe the rubrics, tasks, and the student outcomes in courses where the tasks and rubrics were used. (Contains 49…

Online courses have many components and dimensions. Both the form (structure) and the content (expression) are situated in an overall environment. The sum of these elements results in student outcomes and learning. In order to facilitate construction and evaluate the quality of an online course, a four-part rubric was designed to reflect:…

Secondary vocational-technical education programs in Mississippi are faced with many challenges resulting from sweeping educational reforms at the national and state levels. Schools and teachers are increasingly being held accountable for providing true learning activities to every student in the classroom. This accountability is measured through…

In this article, the authors use qualitative and quantitative research to identify the performance of social actors whose decisions impact students and teachers, elucidate a set of measurements for their performance, and offer both a theoretical and research justification for these measurements. The work challenges two faulty assumptions behind…

Authentic and constructive learning experiences that include analysis of primary source documents are necessary elements of effective social studies teaching (Bailyn, 1994; Leinhardt, Stainton, & Virji, 1994; Wineburg & Wilson, 1991; Young & Leinhardt, 1998). This study examines the abilities of 70 fifth and seventh grade students to complete…

The use of online rater self-training is growing in popularity and has obvious practical benefits, facilitating access to training materials and rating samples and allowing raters to reorient themselves to the rating scale and self monitor their behaviour at their own convenience. However there has thus far been little research into rater…

The author describes teaching eighth-grade students about the civil rights movement. Teachers used photographs of students in the 1950s as a central theme of their unit about the U.S. civil rights movement. Using these photographs as a learning tool inspired the students to be engaged in history. At the end of the unit, students were able to…

Maja Wilson believes that efforts to standardize language through rubrics and generalized comments provide a disservice to students and undermine the power of the reading and writing experience. She advocates making use of our subjectivity as readers, conceding that her values cannot be standardized and often shift in response to interactions with…