Whether students of various ages reported different self-perceptions of their writing because of survey design effects was studied. As part of a writing performance assessment, 1,972 students in an urban/suburban school district in grades 3 (n=736), 6 (n=636), and 9 (n=600) completed a brief self-perception survey that contained 5 items measuring…

A team of three organizers and a panel of five experts representing scholars and practitioners from multiple disciplines participated in an innovative session that explored performance at multiple levels in organizations. The session objectives were as follows: (1) raise participants' awareness of multilevel approaches to the study of…

This action research project evaluated a program for improving motor skills in kindergartners by incorporating into the core curriculum motor activities, new materials focused on motor skills, and authentic assessments of motor skills. Teacher observations, scores from the DIAL-R (Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning-Revised)…

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 reading and applying technical information from a variety of English…

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 technical reading regarding small engines. It begins with reference to the…

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 writing a short story for a variety of academic and technical purposes,…

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 demonstrating effective English language communication skills in personal,…

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 speaking to an audience or interact with a group. It begins with reference…

These three newsletters for 1998 highlight the following topics and issues. The March newsletter features an article on streamlining the transfer ready model, which includes an equation to find the transfer directed rate and the transfer ready rate. The new transfer ready model is divided into three categories, the beginning cohort, the transfer…

This paper provides a survey of accountability-related activities in states outside of California, summarizes the variables used, provides information on the advantages and disadvantages of various accountability systems, and suggests some policy recommendations that have been made in other states implementing performance-based funding. This…

This study of Law School Admission Test (LSAT) performance by selected subgroups has been conducted to provide some baseline information that can later be referenced in a variety of projects and activities. The study provides a detailed psychometric analysis, by selected gender and ethnic subgroup membership, of LSAT Form OLSS1. This form was…

This brief issue paper offers an overview of the key issues involved in the pay-for-performance plan, as it applies to compensating teachers. Paying teachers on the basis of performance, as a way to improve the quality of teaching, has gained support in recent years. This paper examines the practice through five leading pay-for-performance models.…

This study focused on response rates to online student ratings of faculty at Brigham Young University, Utah, where concerns about response rates have contributed to a long period for testing and implementation of the online system (more than 5 years). The first pilot study, in 1997, included 36 courses and yielded a response rate of about 40%. The…

This guide provides assistance to state and local vocational-technical educators in the development of curriculum that is based on national and state skill standards that use workplace-derived measures of competent performance to prepare students for the work world. The guide begins with guidelines for determining the usefulness of existing…

This handbook offers a practical model for developing a comprehensive faculty evaluation system that responds to the specific needs, concerns, and characteristics of faculty and administration in an individual academic unit. The eight steps of the model are: (1) determining the faculty role model; (2) determining faculty role model parameter…