Responding to Gregory Cizek's critique of the "faddishness" of direct assessment methods, this article urges a more constructive debate about the pressing issues of costs versus benefits, the place of face validity in test design, the differing needs in assessment data reporting, and assessment methods that actually improve school…

The following methods for selecting similar units in performance monitoring are compared: (1) cluster groupings; (2) index groups; and (3) benchmark groups. Advantages and drawbacks of each method are presented, with a discussion that demonstrates the statistical superiority of the benchmark grouping method. (SLD)

Provides examples of alternative assessment methods on the following topics: (1) microbiology assessment; (2) optics assessment; (3) genetics assessment; (4) electromagnetic assessment; and (5) student responses. (ZWH)

Discusses how to adopt and use a performance-based grading system (for high school journalism classes) which offers flexibility and fairness and which motivates students. (SR)

Provides a broad perspective on results-based performance measurement (RBPM). It describes the reasons for its growing popularity in government and outlines several of the key elements and considerations that must be included in the implementation of the RBPM system in the public sector. (Author)

Provides information for constructing two-dimensional performance graphs for students to assess their competencies and to diagnose difficulties in the important area of problem solving. (ASK)

Discusses authentic assessment of student performance as it relates to academic improvement and educational reform. Points out that there is too much testing of basic knowledge and skills out of context, and too little teaching of complex concepts. (MMU)

Two studies focused on aspects of the rating process in performance assessment. The first, which involved 15 raters and about 400 medical students, made the "committee" facet of raters working in groups explicit, and the second, which involved about 200 medical students and four raters, made the "rating-occasion" facet…

Addresses one specific method of authentic assessment, portfolio assessment, by applying this method in two case studies assessing learning of instructional technology. Explains the differences between process portfolios and product portfolios, explains scoring rubrics, and provides suggestions for practitioners. (Author/LRW)

Building on New York State's long tradition of involving teachers in developing and evaluating state examinations, the standards-based prototypes developed through the Goals 2000 New Assessments Project relied on teachers to score exams, using guides and rubrics. The process helped teachers clarify goals and expectations, deepen disciplinary…

Compared four standard-setting procedures for an objective structure clinical examination (OSCE) in medical education. Applied Angoff, borderline, relative, and holistic procedures to the data used to establish a cutoff score for a pass/fail decision. The Angoff and borderline procedures gave similar results; however, the relative and holistic…

Montana Improving Schools Through Accreditation (MISTA) is a pilot program that empowers schools to attain accreditation through their own visions of improved student learning. Termed "performance-based accreditation," this process is voluntary and represents a consensus among the regional accrediting agency, the state education agency,…

Argues that understanding, in history or other domains, entails being able to use mental representations in order to engage in culturally meaningful performances such as creating products, solving problems, or building explanations. Examines challenges and possibilities for a performance-based view of understanding through the analysis of examples…

A "successful intelligence" intervention improved school achievement for a group of 225 ethnically diverse third-graders, both on performance assessments measuring analytical, creative, and practical achievements and on conventional multiple-choice memory assessments. Teaching for triarchic thinking facilitates factual recall, because learning…

Research on developing technology for large-scale performance assessments in science is reported briefly, and a conceptual framework is presented for defining, generating, and evaluating science performance assessments. Types of tasks are discussed, and the technical qualities of performance assessments are discussed in the context of…