In an effort to find out what makes small schools work, teachers, administrators, and students from seven small high schools in seven states were interviewed. While each school was different, themes that surfaced included the presence of varied forms of small learning communities, personalized learning plans, learner-centered assessment and…

Presents 2 mathematical projects involving (n=25) fourth-grade and (n=26) sixth-grade students' concept mapping (on fractions and on geometry) that allowed monitoring of students' individual understanding over time and provided information about students' conceptual understanding. (37 references) (Author/MKR)

Reviews alternative assessment practices in several nations and questions whether these techniques should be used in the United States. Focuses on moderation, a technique in which trained evaluators adjust grades to ensure equitable distribution among participating schools. Concludes that evaluation in art education presents special problems and…

This article discusses how alternative assessment strategies can tap into learners' espoused theories of action and ways in which educational platforms and portfolios become strategies for revealing learners' theories. The leadership preparation program of the University of Northern Colorado (Greeley) shows use of platforms and portfolios in a…

Discusses national standardized testing versus testing reform and provides an overview of the alternative assessment movement and its relationship to the school library media specialist. Highlights include criticisms of standardized testing; theoretical assumptions for alternative assessment; research and practice related to specific alternative…

Argues that a skills-based approach for the assessment of laboratory work is philosophically unsound, educationally worthless, and pedagogically dangerous. Proposes an alternative, holistic approach to assessment, based on a more valid model of scientific practice. (Contains 38 references.) (MDH)

Traditional assessment of student progress focuses on product and emphasizes only the academic aspects of student development. Teachers are often frustrated by the teach-test-report model, since grades cannot truly reflect a student's progress. A Canadian secondary school teacher's experience with grade-2 cooperative learning helped restructure…

Teachers at an interdisciplinary magnet middle school in Pensacola, Florida, collaboratively developed performance assessments to help them evaluate defined student processes and outcomes shown in student writings, oral and electronic presentations, and other portfolio offerings. In interdisciplinary schools, collaboration between curricula and…

Explores test usefulness in alternative assessment and discusses self-assessment, portfolios and diaries, video and peer observations, and peer assessment. The concept of washback (how the test affects processes of learning and instruction) and concerns about alternative assessment are also addressed. Considerations for implementing alternative…

Most states have expanded their statewide testing programs to include alternative educational assessments, and two (Kentucky and Maine) have completely abandoned the multiple-choice format. However, over half of states designing alternative assessments are encountering major difficulties related to the high cost of performance-based assessments,…

This study examined preservice teachers' perspectives of a required portfolio construction and review in one course. Interviews, surveys, reflective statements, and videotapes indicated that students initially questioned it, but after review with faculty and peers, they valued what they learned about their own knowledge of content, teaching and…

Discusses alternative assessment in light of the New English Curriculum, considers why teachers and students in Israel may be reluctant to use alternative assessment, and provides a summary of different types of alternative assessment used at an Israeli high school. (Author/VWL)

Describes experiences of three second graders taking standardized achievement tests. Maintains that many children lose learning time and confidence over test results that are not adequately explained to parents. Argues that samples of children's work over time better document growth and that young children should be viewed in terms of widely held…

This paper deals with a required methods course, based on the national curriculum of science and technology for junior high schools. The course participants are pre-service teachers who study towards a B.Sc. degree in education in science and technology parallel to their studies in one of the faculties of sciences or engineering. Working in small…

Alternative assessment procedures have made consistent inroads into second and foreign language assessment practices over the last decade. The original impetus for alternative assessment methods has been predicated more on the ideological appeal this approach offers than on firm empirical evidence that alternative assessment approaches actually…