Entries in this bibliography represent current holdings of the Test Center of the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory in the area of alternative assessment ideas for science. Alternative refers to holdings on topics other than standardized, norm-referenced tests. The list emphasizes performance assessments, portfolios, and technological…

The long-range research and development needs for integrating assessment into instruction are discussed, and how ready the educational community is to begin making blueprints for this integration is explored. This paper addresses the problems of learning progress, diagnostic assessment, the design and implementation of performance tasks, and…

This digest examines the use of standardized, nationally normed testing in assessing the progress of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students and describes alternative forms of assessment. For years, researchers have criticized the overuse of standardized, nationally normed tests to assess learner and school success. Problems with such…

The purpose of the Australian conference on mathematical assessment was to address the challenges to traditional methods of assessment that have resulted as part of the call for reform in the mathematics curriculum. The 28 papers presented were: "Who Assesses Whom and To What Purpose?" (Leone Burton; "Assessment of the Learned…

A panel of 46 experts from philosophy and education defines critical thinking as "purposeful, self-regulatory judgment which results in interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and inference, as well as explanation of the evidential, conceptual, methodological, criteriological, or contextual considerations upon which that judgment is…

Preliminary data was gathered to guide subsequent research that will shape training procedures and scoring practice for performance assessment activities that integrate multiple content areas. Content area integration is a key feature of many of the tasks in the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP), a large-scale assessment of…

This paper deals with the problems that arise in performance assessment from the granularity that results from having a small number of tasks or prompts and raters of responses to these tasks or prompts. Two problems are discussed in detail: (1) achieving a satisfactory degree of reliability; and (2) equating or adjusting for differences of…

This paper examines interviews with principals and surveys of 19 teachers in 5 schools about their use of portfolio assessment. Six themes are identified that reveal the impact of portfolio assessment. Teachers reported that using portfolios broadened the types of evidence they considered in assessing students. The transition to portfolio…

A study was conducted to provide information for setting two separate standards, the accuracy score and the documentation score, for the Praxis III: Classroom Performance Assessment (Praxis III). Praxis III is intended for making instructional and licensing decisions about beginning teachers. This standard-setting study was a person-judgment…

A cursory examination of current measurement texts used in teacher education reveals a treatment of such topics as test reliability, item analysis, and test interpretation based largely upon classical test theory. In the meantime, the landscape of the classroom has been significantly impacted by a growing emphasis on more authentic assessment…

The Indiana State Assessment System, new for the 1995-96 school year, will emphasize student-constructed answers in both language arts and mathematics in grades 3, 4, 8, 10, and 12. Optional classroom performance assessments will be available for grades 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, and 11. Local diagnostic tests will be available at the same grades as the…

This paper presents preliminary, but statistically significant, findings from a study that compares two methods of measuring instructional effectiveness: global evaluation by experts and systematic observation using the SCRIBE Ob.2 software developed at the University of Texas at Austin. Hierarchical instruction of a performance skill…

This report on professional development of English teachers discusses the Dimensions of Teaching as a basis for the judging of performance in the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards [for] Early Adolescence/English Language Arts (NBPTS EA/ELA) assessment. The report focuses on how the professional literature on Models of Teacher…

This book presents essays by researchers, practitioners, and policy makers who study the impact of classroom portfolios in the assessment of writing achievement by elementary and middle-grade students. Essays in the book report on a national survey of exemplary projects and presents contributions to a Portfolio Conference held at Stanford…

This document tabulates extensive and detailed information about the assessment programs of each state. It is the third edition of the database and remains the single best source for information about the student assessments that states conduct. The database is compiled from a survey completed by state directors of assessment. The first section of…