It is argued that judgments in evaluative research are ultimately subjective, but that good criteria are available to assess their quality. One of these criteria is the robustness of the judgments against incompleteness or uncertainty in the data used to describe the educational system. The use of the robustness criterion is demonstrated through…

In a survey of educational researchers, school and district administrators, and policymakers, 1,818 respondents rated educational practices and policies according to their influence on learning and assessability. Classroom practices, design and delivery of curriculum, and schoolwide practices were rated as more influential than federal, state, and…

Traditionally, outcomes measured by postsecondary vocational education assessment have included labor force participation rates, type of employment, earnings, and employer satisfaction with employees. Today, however, legislators and policymakers are moving more and more toward accountability measures tied to students' educational outcomes, such as…

This practicum addressed the need to provide training and experiences for school psychologists serving preschool children and their families. The practicum involved preparing and presenting inservice training to special education cooperative preschool assessment teams. Inservice training sessions covered: multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and…

This report summarizes conclusions from previous reports and makes explicit comparisons between assessment approaches. The report is organized in four sections under the headings: Design, Content Analysis, Costs, and Analysis of Technical Quality. The first section (Design) describes salient characteristics of each assessment approach, the…

Since 1988, Vermont has been developing an innovative performance assessment program that relies substantially on portfolios of student work. This interim report presents findings about the reliability of scores from the first statewide implementation of the portfolio program in the 1991-92 school year. The focus is not on program impact as an…

Recent debates regarding the crisis in American education have led to two essentially contradictory positions: one calling for a movement away from a unified concept of education toward a concept which recognizes and incorporates diversity; and the other calling for increased accountability on all levels of education. The purpose of this paper is…

Whether common standards exist among the national standards for kindergarten through grade 12 mathematics, science, and civics and government was studied. Common standards were explored among "Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics," produced by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the "National…

A theory of portfolio assembly is presented and used to guide analysis of portfolios. Features of a portfolio evaluation approach known as the Cognitive Model for Assessing Portfolios (CMAP) are outlined. This model assumes that portfolios begin as relatively simple collections and gradually grow into complex, articulate stories of knowing. It is…

In Florida, the Full Services Schools model has emerged as an alternative to fragmented service delivery because service providers have assumed that children have needs beyond classroom education and that Florida's system of service delivery has failed to meet those needs. The purpose of this multiple-site comparative case study is to describe and…

In spring 1994, a seminar involving children's rights activists and researchers was held to examine how the monitoring of children's rights, within the context of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, supports the monitoring of the goals agreed to at the World Summit for Children. The seminar also reviewed the state of the art…

A project was conducted to design an alternative assessment tool for use with adult learners traditionally identified as reading below fifth-grade level. This assessment allows for the creation of a goal-oriented Individual Education Plan that is personalized to the learner's needs and educational goals. The approach, analogous to the art…

This sampler discusses California's English-language arts assessment program and presents examples of high school reading assessments, writing assessments, and writing prompts. The first section of the sampler takes an integrated look at Year One of the California Learning Assessment System (CLAS). The second section presents the scoring guide for…

This sampler discusses California's English-language arts assessment program and presents examples of elementary school reading assessments, writing assessments, and writing prompts. The first section of the sampler takes an integrated look at Year One of the California Learning Assessment System. The second section presents the scoring guide for…

Noting that reliable and valid measures of competence are essential for preschool screening, diagnostic, and research purposes, this review for practitioners and researchers presents an inventory and evaluation of standardized measuring instruments designed for assessing social and emotional competence in preschool children. A total of 39…