We describe the conceptualization, design, development, validation, and testing of a summative instrument that measures high school students' ability to analyze and evaluate data, construct scientific explanations, and formulate scientific arguments in biology and chemistry disciplinary contexts. Data from 1,405 students were analyzed to evaluate…

This paper reports a case study of four grade 10 physical sciences teachers' PCK about graphs of motion. We used three data collection strategies, namely teachers' written accounts, captured by the content representation (CoRe) tool, interviews and classroom observations. We conceptualised the PCK displayed in the CoRe tool and the interviews as…

An increased emphasis on writing standards has led many U.S. states to incorporate on-demand writing assessments into their test-based accountability system. We argue this creates political and pedagogical tensions for teachers to navigate. We discuss how rubric conceptualization (1) is a process wherein a teacher iteratively (co-)constructs…

The purpose of the study was twofold. First, it investigated the kinds of writing tasks in textbooks used by senior high school students in Japan. Second, it examined the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) levels of the writing tasks in English-language textbooks for Japanese senior high school students. The study focused…

Kuh (2008) describes the capstone as a "culminating experience" students undertake close to graduation often involving "a project of some sort that integrates and applies what they've learned" (p. 11). The senior thesis is one form of the capstone in which students write an analytic paper under faculty supervision, typically as…

Small-group discussions in which teachers and students interact with text are common in language arts classrooms. As documented in the extant literature, teacher discourse moves affect how the discussion unfolds and the resulting quality of the talk. What is not present in the literature is a unified lexicon or taxonomy for defining and…

Mathematical modeling allows flexibility for a project-based experience. We share details of our regular capstone course, successful for virtually 100% of our math majors for almost two decades. Our research-like approach in this course accommodates a variety of student backgrounds and interests, and has produced some award-winning student…

This paper presents assessment data from a first-year writing library partnership to examine the relationship between student source use and written synthesis. It finds that first-year students could locate peer-reviewed, scholarly sources but that these sources were poorly integrated in their arguments--if they were used at all. In contrast, it…

Rubrics are widely used in higher education to assess performance in project-based learning environments. To date, the sources of error that may affect their reliability have not been studied in depth. Using generalisability theory as its starting-point, this article analyses the influence of the assessors and the criteria of the rubrics on the…

There has been an increased interest in documenting the growth and learning outcomes of students in all subjects in the past 20 years, and music education has not been immune to the accountability movement. Yet, in spite of the increased sociopolitical pressures put on educators, music has remained a difficult discipline to assess, which in turn…

Many teachers and administrators recognize the importance of social and emotional development for student success but do not feel that they have the time or tools to support social and emotional learning (SEL). The American Institutes for Research developed the "Social and Emotional Learning Coaching Toolkit: Keeping SEL at the Center"…

Small-group discussions in which teachers and students interact with text are common in language arts classrooms. As documented in the extant literature, teacher discourse moves affect how the discussion unfolds and the resulting quality of the talk. What is not present in the literature is a unified lexicon or taxonomy for defining and…

This study describes the development and initial psychometric evaluation of a Recognizing Effective Special Education Teachers (RESET) teacher observation instrument. Specifically, the study uses generalizability theory to compare two versions of a rubric, one with general descriptors of performance levels and one with item-specific descriptors of…

Syllabus, as one of the most important tools of teaching-learning, must contain necessary contents. A clearly designed, well-presented syllabus with the contents following the best practices in the field is a prerequisite for effective teaching. To analyze the contents of the syllabi of English language development courses of Bangladeshi…

The assessment model of student field practice is essential to assess the achievement of students' competence as a prospective teacher. It is also important in Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teaching Training. The objective of this research is to identify the available assessment model in sequence to find causes why do the lecturers find difficulty in…