Background: Coaches and physical educators must obtain valid data relating to the contribution of each of their players in order to assess their level of performance in team sport competition. This information must also be collected and used in real game situations to be more valid. Developed initially for a physical education class context, the…

Showcasing assessment practices that can help teachers plan effective instruction, this book addresses the real-world complexities of teaching literacy in grades K-8. Leading contributors present trustworthy approaches that examine learning processes as well as learning products, that yield information on how the learning environment can be…

Business intelligence (BI) tools offer schools the ability to look beyond a routine statistic, such as what percentage of students have passed a given test. Through data analysis, schools can view specific scores for a select group of students, for example, and compare that data to other groups, classes, or teachers. That is the kind of…

This paper presents a curriculum, textbook and test result analysis for the new (to California) elementary school "Key Standard" mathematics curriculum, transplanted in 1998 from it's foreign roots in Asia and Europe, locations with far different cultural and economic backgrounds. Based on topic analysis methods developed by Michigan…

Each teacher of social studies teacher needs to possess a philosophy of teaching and learning. Philosophy provides guidance and direction in choosing objectives, learning activities, and assessment procedures. Each philosophy to be discussed will possess differences in meaning and implementation. It is salient to understand relevant philosophical…

Using strict and lenient mathematics achievement cutoff scores to define a learning disability, respective groups of children who are math disabled (MLD, n = 15) and low achieving (LA, n = 44) were identified. These groups and a group of typically achieving (TA, n = 46) children were administered a battery of mathematical cognition, working…

This article reports on two national teachers' unions that have mounted a vigorous lobbying campaign to rewrite language linking teacher bonuses to student test scores and other incentive-pay provisions contained in a draft bill for reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind Act. Members of the National Education Association circulated in the halls of…

This study explores the utility of analytic scoring for TAST in providing useful and reliable diagnostic information for operational use in three aspects of candidates' performance: delivery, language use and topic development. One hundred and forty examinees' responses to six TAST tasks were scored analytically on these three aspects of speech. G…

This volume is concerned with the alignment between the way the mathematical performance of students is assessed and the reform agenda in school mathematics. The chapters in this book have been prepared to raise a set of issues that scholars are addressing during this period of transition from traditional schooling practices toward the reform…

This study compares logistic discriminant function analysis for differential item functioning (DIF) with a technique for the detection of DIF that is based on item response theory rather than the Mantel-Haenszel procedure. In this study, the areas between the two item characteristic curves, also called the item characteristic curve method is…

This book presents an approach to developing performance assessments. It begins with four steps for "Info In" and moves to four "Info Out" modes through which students can make their content understanding explicit for evaluation purposes. The first chapter is an overview of performance assessment in the classroom. Chapter 2 discusses the "Info In"…

A survey of 136 teachers serving learning disabled students indicated such results as that 82.1 percent knew about direct and frequent measurement; that 43.8 percent used the approach, expending 10 percent time; and that 46.4 percent did not use the technique due to perceived lack of time or skills. (Authors/MC)

A cross-sectional study of 132 Australian rural children from grades K-6 assessed children's understanding of the number system. Task-based interview data exhibited lack of understanding of the base ten system, with little progress made during Grades 5 and 6. Few Grade 6 children used holistic strategies or generalised the structure of the number…

Task-based language assessment (TBLA) grows from the observation that mastering the grammar and lexicon of a language is not sufficient for using a language to achieve ends in social situations. In TBLA, language use is observed in settings that are more realistic and complex than in discrete skills assessment and that typically require the…

This study explored the usefulness of a classroom assessment technique called the activity summary template. It is proposed that the activity summary template enables students to process and organize information learning during an investigation. This process will in turn help students to achieve greater learning outcomes. The activity summary…