Contends that, when developed and shared in small groups, analytic reading lists can lead students to assess individual reading habits, identify patterns and preferences, and set future goals. Gives a step-by-step method for the process: gathering and listing, discussing and reflecting, and documenting accomplishment in reading. (PA)

An assessment strategy is described that incorporates progressive two-way feedback into the assessment process. Students measure their own performance and understanding, while the tutor receives detailed feedback about student progress, perceptions, and feelings through student diaries that are gathered into a portfolio. (SLD)

Gives a theoretical rationale for a portfolio evaluation project and describes a directly applicable structure and procedure for such a project. Discusses how the task of assessing the efficacy of technical communication service courses provides an opportunity to learn more about student and faculty needs and to update and improve curriculum. (SC)

Presents three teachers' experience with a journal-writing workshop that was successfully implemented in a first-grade classroom, in which the children became an enthusiastic and effective community of writers. Discusses several advantages of a journal-writing workshop. (SG)

A portfolio can convey a teacher's beliefs, knowledge and skills. An artist uses a portfolio to display artistic talent, and a teacher can use his or her portfolio to display teaching talent and teaching style. A teacher's portfolio may be used to obtain new employment, to document teaching accomplishments in order to receive a promotion or tenure…

This study examined the use of portfolio assessment to determine the extent to which student teachers are able to demonstrate INTASC principles in their teaching. More specifically, it looked at the role of perception and assumption by identifying inconsistency between university faculty and student teacher expectations and use of the portfolio.…

This study presents an investigation of information literacy as defined by the ETS iSkills™ assessment and by the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) Information Literacy Scale (ILS). As two related but distinct measures, both iSkills and the ILS were used with undergraduate students at NJIT during the spring 2006 semester. Undergraduate…

This research synthesis examines how teacher effectiveness is currently measured. By evaluating the research on teacher effectiveness and the different instruments used to measure it, this research synthesis contributes to the discussion of appropriate rigor and relevance of measures for different purposes (i.e., formative vs. summative…

In this study, we examine the role of academic preparation in the transition from community colleges to four-year institutions. We address two specific questions: To what extent do academically unprepared students transfer to four-year institutions? And, can positive experiences in community colleges diminish the role of inadequate academic…

This study reports findings from an elementary teacher education initiative advanced between a department of mathematics and a school of education in a large, state-supported university. The design incorporated the interconnectedness of teacher candidates' conceptions related to mathematics, teaching, and learning and sought to explore how…

The Commission has started collecting data for the 2007 University Eligibility Study. This study is the latest in a series that began in 1966 to estimate the percentage of California public high school graduates who meet the admission requirements of the California State University (CSU) and the University of California (UC). California Education…

Spreadsheets can be a powerful tool when it comes to teaching physics. From data analysis and graphing to animated simulations, Excel[R] is a very versatile program for the educator and learner alike. This paper describes and supports another use for Excel through Reflective Formative Assessment Spreadsheets (RFAS). To illustrate the use of RFAS,…

In an effort to assess student writing in a way that reflects current views of writing (i.e., as a social process supported by the interaction of a number of cognitive sub-processes), and yet still seeks to determine what students can do independently, it has become a common practice to include timed essays in student portfolios. However, this…

The limited research that exists in the area of prior learning assessment (PLA) has tended to be descriptive and conceptual in nature. Where empirical studies have been done, they have focussed mainly on PLA as a means of credentialing rather than as a learning experience. Furthermore, there has been very little empirical research into the…

As a result of frequently hearing students comment that the language used in mathematics is "like hearing a foreign language," the author investigated this perception by studying a ninth-grade mathematics classroom. Using transcriptions of classroom discussions and semistructured interviews with students, her findings suggest that students…