Since passage of Maryland State Senate Bill 795, the Baltimore City Public School System has implemented and advanced on a broad, multipronged front to enhance the quality, stability, and effectiveness of its school workforce. Examines four prongs: recruitment, retention, professional development, and performance evaluation of teachers and…

Reports on the positive results obtained from the University of Kentucky's newly installed undergraduate performance-based learning (PBL) surgery clerkship. Favorable results include the PBL students' performance surpassing that of students in lecture-based instruction, and PBL students performing significantly better in the clinical applications…

Aided by a small state grant, a Los Angeles County elementary school serving limited-English-speaking students tackled its underachievement problem by involving teachers in setting higher academic standards and expectations. The goal-driven project has provided focus and coherence to classroom instruction and improved fifth-grade reading and…

Discusses the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards system of National Board Certification and the effect of the performance-based assessment on teaching and education. The article offers a rationale for National Board Certification, describes three general components (standards, assessment, and professional development), and examines…

Discusses Howard Gardner's views regarding students' academic abilities. Describes the use of primary sources in history instruction. Includes a guide for analyzing primary sources for each level from kindergarten through eighth grade. (CFR)

Asks whether teachers understand why students participate in music education and activities. Discusses three types of motivation: (1) incentive motivation; (2) fear motivation; and (3) intrinsic, or growth motivation. Presents three charts listing criteria for student competency in wind instruments. (CFR)

The old era of educational assessment and reasons for its demise are described. The new era will be different and will present four challenges to the assessment community: (1) new assessment targets; (2) technical challenges of alternative assessments; (3) demystifying assessment and evaluation; and (4) reexamining assessment priorities. (SLD)

Using portfolios in assessing literacy is explored, considering student portfolios and the teacher's class portfolio. Portfolio assessment is a valuable complement to externally mandated tests, but technical issues must be addressed if the portfolio movement is to survive. Portfolios must be linked to the broader task of instructional improvement.…

Guidelines for developing performance assessments in science education allied with current research and reform are presented. The guidelines are applied to 3 hands-on science investigations performed by over 300 fifth and sixth graders and scored by science educators. Although difficult to develop, such assessments can be scored reliably. (SLD)

Provides a conceptual framework for a professional support personnel (e.g., counselors, deans, librarians) performance evaluation system. Outlines steps in evaluating support personnel (identifying system needs, relating program expectations to job responsibilities, selecting performance indicators, setting job performance standards, documenting…

Increasing emphasis on assessment and concern about assessment techniques have stirred interest in alternative assessment forms, for which evidence is needed about consequences, transfer of performance on specific assessment tests, and assessment fairness. Criteria concerning consequences, fairness, transfer-generalizability, cognitive complexity,…

Prescribes the use and grading of student-created assessment portfolios for a large-enrollment, introductory-level environmental science course. Grading involves a modified holistic-scoring technique that evaluates student-provided evidence of academic achievement from extended, authentic tasks. Portfolio use emphasizes the integration of facts…

Describes a qualitative action research study that investigated the effectiveness of an assignment for tenth graders that required primary research methods and an essay. Topics include authentic research; constructivist theory of learning; performance-based assessment; student journals; peer editing; teacher-librarian collaboration; and student…

The problem use of alcohol causes over 100,000 deaths in the United States per year and has substantial negative impact on family structure, the economy and the criminal justice system. Screening and early treatment of individuals with problem use of alcohol by health professionals can significantly reduce mortality and morbidity. Students from…

In December 2001, as part of a Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology grant, the St. Mary's College writing center dedicated space, software, and trained personnel to assist students and teachers in the writing and development of electronic portfolios. They created a unified space for faculty and student development across disciplines.…