This document argues that current efforts to establish a national test to measure progress toward the nation's educational goals will inhibit, rather than advance, educational reform. Proponents of a national test have asked for single, primarily multiple-choice tests, or for performance assessments to measure progress toward the nation's…

Some observations are offered about alternative assessment devices, performance assessments in particular. The act of conducting alternative assessment does not automatically ensure good assessment. Users must become knowledgeable consumers of published alternative assessment tools and developers of local and classroom assessments. Performance and…

Information was gathered about current state interest, activity, and concerns related to performance assessment for students. The Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing of the University of California (Los Angeles) conducted telephone interviews with directors of testing in each of the 50 states in the spring of 1990.…

Performance-based assessment has the potential to support a richer curriculum and more accurately assess the skills of low-income minority students than standardized tests. Performance-based assessment has the following advantages: (1) it allows a wide range of expression; (2) it permits assessment of learning in a natural context while students…

Performance/Outcome Based Principal Evaluation (P/OBPE) attempts to enhance the instructional and managerial leadership of the principal and assistant principal by providing a basis for effective data collection, communication, personal and organizational development, and employment decision making. Professional criteria--job related expectations…

Performance evaluation is designed to assist principals in better accomplishing their leadership role. Performance/Outcome Based Principal Evaluation (PBPE) is defined as "a process for the professional development of principals through the identification of job-related expectations, documentation of skills regarding those expectations, feedback…

Statistical equating of scores from direct writing assessments is performed in Maryland to hold the difficulty of passing the Maryland Writing Test (MWT) equivalent from year to year and to allow a demonstration of growth in student writing achievement over the years. Passage of the test is a high school graduation requirement. Prior to…

This document is a transcript of a forum held in Washington, D.C. on June 6, 2006 on performance-based compensation in public education. The discussion was introduced by Eugenia Kemble, executive director of the Albert Shanker Institute, forum sponsor. The forum was moderated by Milton Goldberg and featured speakers Edward Lawler (director, Center…

This study was conducted in order to identify the major reading, cognitive, and linguistic skills that contribute to individual differences in performance on the reading portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) at third, seventh, and tenth grades. The authors were also interested in understanding the primary deficiencies in…

This study explored the bases for awarding incentive in a pay for performance system in Jamaica. The bases were generated by surveying the perspectives of a representative sample of teachers in the system at the time. The relative significance of emerging bases were examined through quantitative methods culminating in a set of criteria for…

This manual contains information about the contents of a database that provides information about efforts to match changing goals for student achievement to ideas about instruction. The database, available on disk, contains descriptive information on alternative assessments in science and mathematics. The database uses a broad definition of…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of analytic corrections and revisions on college composition students working in a portfolio assessment setting. Subjects were 19 community college students enrolled in a transfer-level class in composition. Three of these students were from the English as a Second Language/immigrant/refugee…

This document contains the following papers on concepts and procedures from the SITE (Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education) 2001 conference: "Using School District Standards To Develop Thematic Lessons for Electronic Portfolios" (Cindy L. Anderson and others); "Using Adobe Acrobat for Electronic Portfolio…

This paper describes how university coursework for a graduate level teaching internship in Childhood Education (preK-4) at the University of Arkansas incorporates standards of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) and encompasses performance-based assessment as utilized in Praxis III to develop instructional units. The…

This paper makes recommendations for developing the next generation of state accountability systems for postsecondary vocational education (PVE). It focuses on the need to improve the core indicators for PVE; reduce the burden and improve the value of Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Amendments of 1998 (Perkins III)…