This article presents a comprehensive model of daily, classroom informal writing assessment that is constantly linked to instruction and the characteristics of proficient writers. Methods for promoting teacher, student, and parent collaboration and their roles in dialoguing, conferencing, and reflection are discussed. Strategies for including…

This article describes how the Problem of the Week Environment at the Math Forum online mathematics resource allows K-8 preservice teachers who are enrolled in mathematics content problem solving-classes to experience the process of reading, evaluating, and replying to young problem solvers' work with thoughtful comments and effective hints. This…

Because a high percentage of Advanced Placement English Language and Composition (APELC) students from a small rural high school were receiving below-average grades on the Advanced Placement Examination, a 10-week composition program was designed and implemented. The composition program included three main strategies: (1) the use of the rubric as…

This book offers colleges and universities a framework and tools to design an effective and collaborative assessment process appropriate for their culture and institution. It encapsulates the approach that Peggy Maki has developed and refined through the hundreds of successful workshops she has presented nationally and internationally. Maki starts…

In this compelling video series, popular presenter-educator Rick Wormeli examines the assessment practices that best support the differentiated classroom. He considers the role of assessment in designing differentiated lessons, the power of formative assessment, important considerations in tiering assessments, and the key components of strong…

This document consists of papers published in the electronic journal "Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation" during 2000-2001: (1) "Advantages of Hierarchical Linear Modeling" (Jason W. Osborne); (2) "Prediction in Multiple Regression" (Jason W. Osborne); (3) Scoring Rubrics: What, When, and How?"…

This paper examines graduate counseling students' affective and cognitive development related to cultural competence. Counseling Process and Cross Cultural Counseling, two required courses in a master's degree program at a regional university in the Midwest, were designed to provide a knowledge-base about cultural differences and to project how…

This guide to different/alternative assessment was prepared for participants in the Rural School and Community Trust, formerly the Annenberg Rural Challenge. Given that Rural Trust participants focus on local place-based education and the relationship between rural schools and their communities, they are not, by and large, enamored of the…

Presents advanced rubrics to help schools measure the effectiveness of their teacher training efforts and to guide teachers on their own learning paths. Highlights include instructional software use, information literacy skills, modification of instructional delivery, assessment of student performance, individualization of the educational program,…

Discusses the need for formal training in Internet use for K-12 educators and presents rubrics to help staff-development designers measure the following competencies: Internet basics; e-mail/electronic mailing lists; World Wide Web; search tools; newsgroups, gophers, telnet; obtaining, decompressing, using files; real-time/push technologies;…

Professional development practices in schools have been changing recently, particularly with the mandates regarding professional development through No Child Left Behind. In 2001, the National Staff Development Council revised its standards of professional development to shift thinking in this area and reflect the changing needs of schools,…

A marked difference in the quality of reading lesson plans after early childhood education students were required to use the Unit Builder feature in a web-based productivity tool (TaskStream) prompted the design of a study to measure significant changes. A rubric was created that meshed the qualities of effective teachers of literacy and the…

From a larger longitudinal study of 610 fourth graders in 17 inner city schools, 40 students were randomly selected from 10 classrooms rated high (i.e., top quartile) or low (i.e., bottom quartile) in quality of writing instruction in grades 3 and 4. The written compositions of these students were scored in three ways: (1) according to a rating…

This action research report describes a program to increase students' reading comprehension and fluency through the use of guided reading. The targeted population consists of second and fourth grade students in a northwest suburban area of a large city located in the Midwest. The problems of low reading comprehension and fluency scores were…

For many people committed to strong academic standards, the "advanced" high school courses offered through the College Board's Advanced Placement program and, increasingly, the Diploma Programme of the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) represent the curricular gold standard for secondary education. Admissions directors and…