In this article, the author explains the key differences among three kinds of instructionally relevant tests that can have a huge impact on what goes on in classrooms: "instructionally insensitive tests," "instructionally sensitive tests," and "instructionally informative tests." If educators understand the advantages and limitations of these…

At some point in an educator's professional life, he may be asked to serve on an awards committee for current publications in his field. An educator's concern then is on how to do it without bias, and more importantly, how to do it when the texts may be very different from each other. One text may be theory-based; one may be a textbook; and…

Whereas great advances have been made in the statistical sophistication of assessments in terms of evidence accumulation and task selection, relatively little statistical work has explored the possibility of applying statistical techniques to data for the purposes of determining appropriate domain understanding and to generate task-level scoring…

This article describes one classroom's experience engaging in a lesson that challenged introductory art students to design a functional ceramic clock in an art-historical style of their choice. The clocks were sculpted in low-relief so that the hands of the clockworks could move freely around the face of the clock. Students were given an…

In this study, the precision of subscale score estimates was evaluated when out-of-scale information was incorporated. Procedures that incorporated out-of-scale information and only information within a subscale were compared through a series of simulations. It was revealed that more information (i.e., more precision) was always provided for…

The United States is currently involved in a continuing controversy about how best to measure the education of children. President Bush and his Administration have pushed for a bevy of standardized assessments, the results of which would be used to reward high-scoring schools and punish low-scoring ones. State departments of education and school…

The main purpose of this paper is to identify and rank the future research categories, priorities and needs for online learning. Based on the main purpose of this study and the concerns, the key research inquiries are: (1) What are the major research categories identified by the online workers for online learning over the next ten years?; (2) What…

This book is a nuts-and-bolts manual for teachers of middle and high school performance-based classes such as band, orchestra, and chorus. This practical "how-to" guide shows teachers--pre-serviced or experienced--efficient ways to manage large performance-based classrooms. With wit and sage tried-and-true advice, Haugland provides a complete…

This article explores the realities of grading and report cards within the context of standards-based physical education (SBPE). Specific objectives are to (1) identify standards for conducting quality assessments, (2) examine grading issues and concerns, (3) present guidelines for grading in SBPE programs, and (4) exemplify grading and reporting…

Adding a strong conclusion can alter a cookbook lab into an inquiry lab by challenging the student to defend relevant data and clearly communicate his or her findings. A well-organized scoring guide makes it easier for students to understand what is involved in writing a strong conclusion. Examples of student writing that are accompanied with the…

Essay tests are widely used to assess ESL/EFL learners' writing abilities for instructional, administrative, and research purposes. Relevant literature was searched to identify 70 empirical studies on ESL/EFL essay tests. The majority of these studies examined task, essay, and rater effects on essay rating and scores. Less attention has been given…

In this article, the author talks about the concept of school library as a place of learning for students. He contends that a school library must be conceived in terms of three aspects. First, it should have a creative school library media specialist to lead the principal through a meaningful vision of what the library could be in terms of…

As communication tool, the rubric encourages active learning and the artistic development of students by providing language for assessing process and product. This article is intended to be the authors' chronicle of their personal journeys rather than a systematic study of the role that scoring rubrics--essentially a matrix that describes the key…

There are few self-report measures of morality. The Religious Status Inventory--"Being Ethical" subscale represents one approach. However, at present there is limited information on the psychometric properties of either the original 20-item version (RSInv-20) or the shortened embedded 10-item version (RSInv-S10). The aim of the present…

The purpose of this study was to describe student learning in executive leadership core competencies after being engaged in a two-semester leadership education sequence. The researchers used evaluative research techniques to compare perceived and actual growth in learning of executive leadership competencies. Data collection consisted of a…