Purpose: Two approaches commonly used for estimating prevalence of language disorders in families were compared. The 1st involved examining a subset of language items from an investigator-based interview used to record parental information on the language and literacy difficulties in relatives. The 2nd was the direct assessment of ability in…

In this article, the author believes that equity and excellence ought simultaneously to govern educational decisions for all students in the middle grades. That is, each student should have access to curriculum that is high level, authentic, meaning-making, expert-focused, and highly relevant to young adolescents. In that way, equity of…

Mathematics teacher education programs are designed with an intention, explicit or implicit, to produce graduates who are competent in both pedagogic knowledge and discipline knowledge. This paper explores students' experiences in coming to learn mathematics and mathematics education. Using an example from a quiz question, supplemented with…

Performance in tests of spoken language can be influenced by a wide range of features of both task and participants. This article hypothesizes that there may be effects on performance attributable to an interaction of variables such as the task topic, the gender of the person presenting the topic and the gender of the candidate. In contrast to…

This study investigates whether the practice of answer changing on multiple-choice questions (MCQs) is beneficial to Gulf Arab students' overall test performance. The proficiency exam used in this study is the Michigan English Language Institute College English Test - Grammar, Cloze, Vocabulary, Reading (MELICET-GCVR), which was developed using…

Teachers can promote long-lasting learning, build higher-order thinking skills, develop individual student accountability, and increase student achievement by incorporating performance learning tasks into the curriculum. In this second edition of "Performance-Based Learning," Sally Berman demonstrates how this model can be modified for learners at…

Advantages of using classroom observation as another measure of teacher performance include: (1) It is applicable to jobs where performance measures based on outcomes are hard to develop or where outcomes cannot be assigned to an individual person; (2) It ensures that important aspects of performance that go beyond measured outcomes, such as how…

Educators Linda Darling-Hammond and Diane Friedlaender share findings from their recent report highlighting five California high schools that have beaten the odds in supporting the success of low-income students of color. Animo Inglewood Charter High School, Stanley E. Foster Construction Tech Academy, June Jordan School for Equity, Leadership…

The paper addresses a key issue in language planning of the third world countries, specifically Pakistan, a country that remained under the shackles of Colonialism till 1947. But, still the country does not have a clear cut language policy. Being richly multilingual and multicultural, it had to cope with the problem of a second language, the…

Articles related to assessment in the field of reading are presented to provide ideas for those studying reading and reading assessment. There are two sections to the bibliography: the articles themselves and an index. Many of the entries describe informal assessments and are intended mainly for classroom use. The 124 articles are listed in…

This paper describes performance-based assessment of beginning science teachers who are seeking provisional teaching certificates in Connecticut. The assessment is part of the Science Education Support and Assessment Program (SESAP). The project attempts to turn a summative licensing assessment into a formative instrument to improve science…

Articles in this bibliography represent holdings of the Test Center of the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory in the area of assessment alternatives in mathematics. Articles are included to stimulate thinking and provide new ideas. Some of the entries describe formal assessments, intended mainly for the classroom. The 134 annotations center…

In many schools and districts, teacher evaluation is poorly conducted, or even disparaged or ignored altogether. This handbook advocates a new approach to teacher evaluation--a cooperative effort undertaken by a group of professionals. Evaluation can reassure teachers that they are doing good and valued jobs, give security and status to…

The shift away from norm-referenced tests to authentic samples of child performance, such as writing and drawing samples, poses serious problems in organizing and analyzing assessments of child performance. This paper proposes a process utilizing the large-scale storage capacity of centralized mainframe computers and the flexibility and efficiency…

Past research has shown that prior knowledge has a main influence on the learning of students and is a better predictor of study success than other variables in distance education. It has also become clear than the use of assessment techniques as instruments for gathering information on study progress and for directing study guidance should be…