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 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…

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…

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 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 20th Yearbook of the College Reading Association reflects the theme of "community" again and again, in diverse ways. First in the yearbook are the Presidential Address by Marino C. Alvarez, "Adolescent Literacy: Are We in Contact?" and the three Keynote Addresses: "My Life in Reading" (J. Chall); "A…

A study was conducted to investigate: (1) the relationships between the results from various forms of assessment and the patterns of correlation across content areas; (2) how cognitive components correlate with the test results from different classroom assessments; and (3) how content areas affected the relationships. Data were collected from a…

A sample of five performance tasks developed to assess student progress toward meeting the content standards are given in this continuation of the social studies framework for the state of Delaware. The sample tasks provide teachers with insight into the types of performances and applications of knowledge that should be expected of students at…

The Colorado Basic Literacy Law, enacted in 1996, requires that school districts report the number and percentage of students who are reading at or above grade level in grade 3, are on individualized literacy plans, or improve their reading achievement by two or more grade levels in a single year. The law requires the use of multiple indicators or…

This report uses the most recent results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (in mathematics, reading, science, and writing); the Advanced Placement Program; national college-admissions tests (ACT and SAT); and national norm-referenced tests used in statewide testing programs to compare SREB states to the nation in improved…

Washback or backwash, also known as measurement-driven instruction, is a common term in applied linguistics referring to the influence of testing on teaching and learning, which is a prevailing phenomena in education. It is a truism that "what is assessed becomes what is valued, which becomes what is taught." This paper aims to share the…

As part of a research project being conducted to determine the impact that the Maryland Learning Outcomes and the Maryland State Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) are having on classroom instruction and assessment practices, social studies classroom materials were collected from elementary and middle schools in Maryland during the 1997-1998…