Collaboration among institutions of higher education involves the sharing of financial, administrative and infrastructural resources with others through a formal memorandum of understanding. There are occasions where due to bureaucratic or political barriers, a formal collaborative arrangement may not be possible, however, academic partnerships…

In a study to evaluate an approach for improving the critical thinking skills of middle school science students, 60 students were given the assignment of completing three guided laboratory activities and writing a report for each. In writing their reports, students were expected to identify the manipulated variable, identify the responding…

WebQuests are a powerful teaching and learning device that have developed rapidly in recent years, especially in the Humanities. In Australia, the use of WebQuests in Science has become popular. The multimedia product of students' investigations can be shared with a variety of audiences. In this article, I will explain what I understand to be a…

A new standard setting method, Mapmark, was recently developed by ACT Inc. in the course of a contract with the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) to set achievement levels for the 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in Grade 12 mathematics. Mapmark includes elements of the bookmark method (Lewis, Mitzel, & Green, 1996;…

This study was conducted to determine whether Ontario students' abilities to apply rubrics accurately in order to self-assess or to assess peers' written work were related to their current levels of achievement in writing. The project examined differences in assessment ability for children attending different grades, gender differences,…

This book provides K-12 teachers with information about effective teaching and learning tools. Each innovation has a long history of use and has been researched and evaluated in a variety of settings. The innovations foster a student-centered classroom environment that is equitable and rigorous. The nine chapters focus on: (1) "The Power of…

This yearbook examines the implications of assessment, assessment design, and multiple assessment tools. The five sections of the book are designed for developing and implementing assessment strategies for the business education curriculum, and several of the 14 chapters contain examples of assessment. The chapters cover the following topics: (1)…

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…

Studied gender differences in answers to constructed-response mathematics items on approximately 500 papers from grades 7 and 10 from the Kansas Assessment Program. Rubric-relevant variables were highly predictive of holistic scores and accounted for some of the gender differences, especially in grade 7. (SLD)

The purpose of this article is to highlight ways in which middle school content area teachers can more effectively assess English Language Learners (ELLs) in their classrooms. This article poses five questions to guide middle school content teachers in making adaptations and accommodations when using traditional classroom tests. The objective of…

Intended for teachers of grades K-2, this book provides rubrics developed by and with teachers to assess a wide variety of reading and writing activities in primary classrooms. The rubrics and checklists are offered as reproducible forms. Most of the rubrics are accompanied by a matching form for children's self-assessment. Many of the assessment…

Constructivist theory has brought significant momentum to all aspects of teacher education. Currently, personal growth of the individual in educational domains is so important that teacher candidates are asked to develop their reflective skills in many courses so that they grow by having internalized and problematized the issues under study by…

This curriculum unit for middle school students explores the art of folklore and story telling. In the unit, students will explore the nature of various types of stories and tales and will identify the characteristics and motifs of subgenres such as tall tales, fairy tales, and fables. The following lessons are part of the unit: Folktales: A…

The purpose of this essay is to explore both what is known and what needs to be learned about the information value of performance items "when they are used in large scale assessments." Within the context of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), there is substantial motivation for answering these questions. Over the…

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…