The article presents a step-by-step guide to choosing and using performance assessment to determine what students know and can do in science. Performance assessment allows teachers to measure what students know by watching what they do. An example of performance assessment in action is included. (SM)

Equal percentile (EP) and partial credit (PC) equatings for raw scores from performance-based assessments with free-response items are compared through the use of data from the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program. Results suggest that EP and PC methods do not give equivalent results when distributions are markedly skewed. (SLD)

Describes the addition of a writing performance assessment to the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), and how development of the Analysis of Argument measure and the Persuasive Adaptiveness measure helps explain the holistic writing score given during grading of the GMAT. Correlates holistic and analytic scores, revealing a positive…

Describes the research of Stanford University's Teacher Assessment Project which studied alternative modes of performance-based assessments for potential use in licensing and certifying teachers. The article discusses how researchers combined assessment center exercises and portfolio development to create a new form of assessment center…

Stanford University's Teacher Assessment Project (TAP) explored new modes of teacher assessment designed to reflect the richness and complexity of teaching. The article discusses TAP's creation, administration, and evaluation of assessment center exercises based on documents teachers submitted in portfolios that included their plans, activities,…

Current school restructuring focuses too little on changes in principal appraisal procedures. The article considers the meaning of school restructuring and discusses change strategies that foster good school restructuring. A discussion of transformational leadership's role in school restructuring is presented along with guidelines for designing…

Methodology is suggested for several statistical procedures to detect polytomously scored items that function differently for two subgroups of examinees. The 3 methods are alternative ways of combining the data from 2 x "k" tables. Simulation results demonstrate the superiority of two of the methods, designated HW1 and HW3. (SLD)

Recently, governments have become interested in assessment as a key mechanism for monitoring and intervening in the educational process. Problems in implementing new approaches to assessment in the context of national testing and evidence from a new national test are illustrated through the National Assessment of England and Wales. (SLD)

Delineates eight recommended steps toward effective teacher remediation, including developing clear performance criteria and commonly understood standards; relying on a clear set of procedures for deficient teachers; making remediation a team effort; varying intervention strategies; supplying adequate resources and supportive policies; and…

Postmodernism represents a critique and correction of some exaggerations, distortions, and myths of modernism. Modern social institutions, including schools, are built on the principles of progress, universality, and regularity. Postmodernism emphasizes embeddedness, particularity, and irregularity, reflected in today's kindergarten and the most…

Adopting an outcome-based system at Minnesota's State Arts High School has produced sweeping changes that transcend curriculum reorganization, ungraded report cards, and a revised daily schedule. The school prints outcomes on students' course report forms, or student learning plans; teachers indicate performance levels of…

Despite evidence of improved instruction, a newly elected school board has reinstated traditional graduation requirements at Littleton (Colorado) High School. Apparently, juniors who had previously earned average grades were overwhelmed or confused by the graduation portfolio and demonstration requirements. Also, assessment tasks, scoring rubrics,…

This study developed performance assessments from hands-on instructional activities and examined their reliability and validity for obtaining individual achievement data. Ethnic group comparisons indicated that Anglos scored higher, on average, than Latinos on all achievement measures. The magnitude of differences varied by curricular experiences…

The Performance Assessment System (PAS) is a portfolio-assessment mechanism used to evaluate beginning teacher performance as a function of the teacher's approach and effectiveness at increasing student learning. The development, scoring, and use of the PAS are described. (SLD)

Examined how well three measures, representing points on a traditional-alternative mathematics assessment continuum, discriminated fourth graders achieving above, at, and below grade level, and how cooperative testing affected performance assessment. Found strong discriminative validity for the more traditional measures but not for performance…