Two representative approaches to measuring and assessing organizational learning are compared. Based on the benefits and drawbacks of each, an alternative framework is proposed for an assessment based on action science, from pragmatic point of view of members of a team within an organization which has declared an intention to improve learning…

This article explores the features relating to the validity of assessment for learning, in particular the features of a "collaborative" assessment for learning, because of the learning benefits associated with collaborative learning. The article indicates what some of the learning benefits of highly valid collaborative assessment for…

To raise the library's profile within the campus community, it is critical to create a strategic plan and align library goals with those of the university. At George Washington University's Gelman Library, the instruction librarians gained internal and external support to hire two new instruction librarians to better support collaboration with the…

Response-to-Intervention (RtI), a framework for improving academic and behavioral outcomes for all students, can be viewed as a current example of an educational change initiative. Given the difficulties that some schools may be experiencing when implementing RtI effectively, it is important to examine prior educational change conceptualizations…

Assessing whether or not students learn what they are supposed to has long been part of the educational process, encouraged even more in recent years by mandates to meet federal No Child Left Behind requirements and state achievement standards. But unlike summative assessments, which rely mostly on end-of-year test scores to gauge student…

Formative assessments are crucial for managing all areas of a district--and not just for students but even for the leaders themselves. A school district leadership team is comprised of the school board, forming the governance team, and the superintendent, who is the leader of the management team. But how does the school board track progress toward…

The two models of self-assessment examined in this paper serve different functions and provide different skills and points of focus for both learners and tutors. The standard model focuses students on their own resources and knowledge in an essentially formative assessment context. Taras' model focuses on students' understanding, using the tutor's…

This paper describes an online image analysis tool developed as part of an iterative, user-centered development of an online Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) called the Education through Virtual Experience (EVE) Portal. The VLE provides a Web portal through which schoolchildren and their teachers create scientific proposals, retrieve images and…

In this article, the author observes how policymakers have approached P-16 reform in a less-constructive fashion--one given to faddism and quick fixes. The author suggests that the problem with P-16 reforms does not lie with how policymakers and advocates have found sensible ways to make the policy work, but rather with the way reformers,…

This article chronicles the evolution of a large research extensive institution's General Education writing assessment efforts from an initial summative focus to a formative, improvement focus. The methods of assessment, which changed as the assessment purpose evolved, are described. As more data were collected, the measurement tool was…

The purpose of this study was to determine if the adoption of the Deming philosophy by teachers and use of the LtoJ[R] process resulted in greater academic achievement. Results of internal consistency analysis indicated that the instrument, the "Commitment to Quality Inventory for Educators," was a reliable measure of the Deming…

This is the final report in Casey's "Closing the Achievement Gap" series that highlights stories, results, and lessons learned from more than a decade of education investing. This publication presents an overview of the Foundation's support to four organizations, each of which targeted technical assistance to a specific audience. It summarizes…

In arguing for more comprehensive practice, policy and research considerations of assessment in physical education (PE), this paper outlines and discusses four integrated conditions of assessment efficacy for the development and promotion of productive assessment in PE. These conditions are prefaced by the proposition that quality PE requires the…

The present study of gifted students' views of assessment is aimed at understanding how the employment of Embedded Assessment for Learning (EAfL) framework in science courses for the gifted affects the students' views throughout the learning process. The participants were 86 students in three programmes for the gifted who elected project-based…

This article outlines and discusses the fundamental parts of the current "Portuguese Assessment System" for both basic mandatory education (Grades 1-9) and secondary education (Grades 10-12). It provides a brief description of some of the most relevant current curriculum development trends such as: (1) the emphasis on vocational…