This paper describes the Milken Family Foundation's Teacher Advancement Program (TAP), which was designed to address many of the problems in today's education. TAP uses a systemic approach that builds on five key principles: providing teachers with multiple career paths and opportunities to advance in the profession without having to leave the…

This paper reports on a study that examined the concept of trust-a critical element in the social glue that bonds the organizational team together and enables effective collective action in schools. It delineates an organizational context for consideration of the concept of trust in interactions in restructured schools. The study suggests that the…

This book reviews the assessment movement, from the history of testing to the practical considerations of enhancing classroom experiences for teachers and students. It explores making time for assessment, tailoring assessment to desired outcomes, and scoring and evaluating student performance. The chapters are: (1) "Where We've Been: Standardized…

This first-person account discusses how a cochlear implant has allowed an individual with deafness to hear. It describes how cochlear implants function, the development of cochlear implants and who can benefit from the implants and to what extent. It also discusses how well people can hear with a cochlear implant. Factors strongly associated with…

Olae is a computer system for assessing student knowledge of physics, and Newtonian mechanics in particular, using performance data collected while students solve complex problems. Although originally designed as a stand-alone system, it has also been used as part of the Andes intelligent tutoring system. Like many other performance assessment…

In classrooms across America, academic standards are being raised. This brochure is intended to help parents understand the importance of higher academic standards and to provide questions that parents can ask teachers and administrators to learn what they need to know about the expectations at their children's school. The brochure first defines…

In classrooms across America, academic standards are being raised. This brochure is intended to help parents understand the importance of higher academic standards and to provide questions that parents can ask teachers and administrators to learn what they need to know about the expectations at their children's school. The brochure first defines…

Developed by classroom teachers during the development phase of Minnesota's Graduation Standards, this performance package is made up of locally designed assignments that, taken together, show whether a student has learned and can apply the knowledge and skills related to dramatizing a story, fable, or folktale. It begins with reference to the…

This report examines new students enrolled in credit courses in the fall 1998 semester at City College of San Francisco, measuring student success in fall 1998 and re-enrollment in spring 1999. The sample consists first of all new students, and then students categorized by their educational origin, the number of matriculation services received,…

This document offers reports on the Maricopa Community College District (Arizona) Governing Board's Goal on Post-Secondary Student Competencies. The report includes detailed information for ten MCCD schools. For example, the 1999-2000 academic year assessment for Chandler-Gilbert Community College (CGCC), analyzed the writing and mathematics…

Content integration in performance assessment involves mixing different areas of knowledge in one assessment. In this type of testing situation, assessment tasks are designed to measure the ability of students to solve problems by applying their knowledge and skills in multiple content areas. This study examined the effect of integrated science…

This report explores some of the critical issues that have emerged from the data collected from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study-Repeat (TIMSS-R) to inform educational decisions in the state of Delaware. Research questions include Delaware's student performance on the TIMSS-R and the Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP),…

Since its inception by the United States Congress in 1969, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has collected information about what U.S. students know and can achieve in core subjects of the school curriculum. The U.S. history NAEP assessments were conducted in 1986, 1988, 1994, and 2001. This digest discusses: (1) the framework…

This book documents classroom practices and considers the implementation and consequences of the Kentucky Education Reform (KERA) Act through case studies, comparisons to other models, and responses from national experts. The chapters are: (1) "Kentucky Lesson: How High Stakes School Accountability Undermines a Performance-Based Curriculum…

This paper suggests that when engaged in project work, children apply most of the skills identified in the age-appropriate state learning standards. To illustrate how good-quality project work addresses the Illinois state learning standards, this paper describes a project conducted by a second-grade class on their community--Grafton, Illinois. The…