The purpose of the current study was to use multilevel modeling to quantify and explain the sources of score variation in standardized patient (SP) encounters. Through laypersons trained to portray SPs and record medical student actions, SP examinations allow the measurement of examinees' clinical and interpersonal skills. In this study, the SP…

The Virginia legislature has imposed a four-year freeze on tuition for all colleges in the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). This paper suggests that freezing tuition rates can only be a temporary fix in the search to find ways to fund education. The paper examines the effects of stable or lowered tuition rates in community colleges: will…

This document consists of articles 1 through 14 of volume 6 of "Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation": (1) "Seven Myths about Literacy in the United States" (Jeff McQuillan); (2) "Implementing Performance Assessment in the Classroom" (Amy Brualdi); (3) "Some Evaluation Questions" (William Shadish); (4) "Item Banking" (Lawrence Rudner); (5)…

Research confirms that readiness skills for literacy and mathematics begin at birth and are developed in combination with life experiences. This guide provides early childhood educators a set of basic guidelines or Foundation Blocks in literacy and mathematics, with indicators of success for entering kindergarten based on scientifically-based…

According to national and state reform efforts in science and mathematics education, new forms of collaboration to foster integrated professional development for teachers are needed. These collaborations are seen as a means to involve practitioners and theoreticians in teacher education. Due to the participation of many players, collaborative…

Many corporations use the 360-degree feedback process to evaluate colleagues. This feedback process attempts to improve organizational performance by increasing the range of data included in employee appraisal. If well executed, it can accurately assess performance in strategically important competencies, establish accountability for documented…

This policy brief explains why performance focus and educational cost indexes must go hand in hand, discusses alternative methods for estimating educational cost indexes, and shows how these costs indexes can be incorporated into a performance-based state aid program. A shift to educational performance standards, whether these standards are…

This paper analyzes the current and historical criticism of performance-based compensation in K-12 education. It claims that new compensation methods are feasible and are necessary in order to attract and retain the best and the brightest into the teaching profession. The document outlines the objections to performance-based compensation, which in…

The purpose of this study was to develop a Framework for Performance Assessment in Science Education (F-PASE). Science educators in the past have paid more attention to science curriculum and teaching strategies than assessment. In recent years attention has turned toward performance assessment which addresses the concerns of science curriculum…

This book is intended as a practical guide to implementing a standards-based curriculum, developing performance tasks, teaching to those tasks, and using performance assessments. The chapters are: (1) "Establishing the Foundations"; (2) "Understanding the Achievement Cycle"; (3) "Focusing on Authentic Learning"; (4) "Building on a Standards-Based…

Structural knowledge is a pre-requisite to valid performance assessment scores because structural knowledge leads to better transfer. Better transfer will cause consistency to occur between task performances for a given individual, and this consistency allows for less construct-irrelevant variance and more construct-relevant variance to be present…

This Addendum was created with the expectation that it would enhance the understanding of the conceptual framework of "Improving Classroom Assessment: A Toolkit for Professional Developers," link its text and activities to other assessment aids, and help trainers design high-quality workshops. The first section of the addendum contains…

A new method is proposed to set multiple standards in performance tests. The method combines three sources of information coming from three different data collections. The first is an empirical definition of mastery of an item; the second consists of parameter estimates of the items in an Item Response Theory (IRT) model, and the third source is a…

School leaders are increasingly coming under the gun of accountability, and this monograph is designed to help leaders think about, understand, and respond thoughtfully and effectively to the increasing demands for accountability in education. It provides a comprehensive and rather sophisticated set of concepts and insights into accountability…

This focus of this newsletter asserts that if one accepts that accountability systems are intended to serve both symbolic and technical functions, one can ask how well they are operating symbolically to motivate action and how well they are doing in providing adequate technical information to support intended inferences. In this column, it is…