To help low achievers improve their grades and their self-concept, a middle school teacher adapted traditional testing procedures to students' learning styles; he then grouped them by achievement level and participation in the alternative assessment program. Participants had higher test grades, fewer classroom behavior problems, increased…

Reports on a course at Saint Thomas University (Florida) for preservice and inservice elementary teachers that emphasizes science content, science-education methods, and technology under the umbrella of environmental science. Finds that students feel more prepared to teach using a hands-on science approach after taking the course. Contains 23…

Based on the 1993 California Learning Assessment System Middle Grades Mathematics Performance Assessment, this study explored whether schools provided students equal opportunities to learn that which is assessed. Classroom observation of assessment administration and interviews with students and teachers at 13 schools found some differences…

This study examined Wichita State University's portfolio plan for preservice teachers to investigate whether the portfolios reflected a programmatic emphasis on integration. Written descriptions of 586 self-selected entries from 127 portfolios indicated a sameness in self-selected entries, with significant differences in who submitted units,…

This manual has been prepared for all New Mexico Statewide Assessment Program (NMSAP) assessment administrators, teachers, school specialists, and principals. It includes information about the following topics: PED contacts, New Mexico Standards Based Assessments (SBA), Grades 3-8 and 11; New Mexico High School Competency Examination (NMHSCE);…

This paper reports on the 30th study group sponsored by the Appalachia Education Laboratory's (AEL) Classroom Instruction Program. Twenty-three K-12 teachers worked in seven teams in six schools throughout Virginia to design and implement classroom interdisciplinary curriculum units with accompanying alternative assignments. Project research…

The new "Mathematics Framework for California Public Schools" identifies complex instructional activities and student performance, and requires new assessment methods to reveal that performance. One of the goals of the California Assessment Collaborative (CAC) is to study the effects of local assessment development and implementation…

Alternative mathematical items administered as prototypes at the spring 1989 Field Trials of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) are evaluated for differential item functioning (DIF) and differential speededness. Results for Algebra Placement (AP) and Student Produced Response (SPR) items are presented and contrasted with results obtained on two…

The papers in this yearbook focus on the strategies, practices, and research related to elementary reading, secondary reading, adult reading, literature, philosophy of reading, psychology of reading, affective issues, administration, supervision, research, teacher training, assessment that affect reading and reading instruction. Papers in the book…

A 67-item Assessment Practices Inventory (API) was administered to 311 inservice teachers. The application of principal components analysis to the data yielded a 6-factor solution that explained 64% of the variance. The Rasch rating scale model was applied to the API to estimate item calibrations. The factor analyzed assessment categories were…

This literature review lists and describes current assessment methods for process writing. Writing instruction's shift of focus from product to process is part of education's greater shift of emphasis from knowledge transmission to inquiry, which allows students to become problem solvers and independent thinkers. Process writing creates…

This digest provides examples of measures well suited for assessing English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students. Alternative assessment is particularly useful with ESL students because it asks students to show what they can integrate and produce, not simply recall and reproduce. Alternative assessment includes varied measures adaptable for…

The Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) has developed an Alternative Assessments in Practice Data Base to support technical assistance needs and to promote the exchange of new assessment ideas. The database is designed to provide easy access and retrieval of information about ongoing and newly developed…

This paper presents six chapters that describe how statewide reading assessment is currently being performed and how the data are being used. The validity of statewide reading assessment instruments and the appropriate uses of statewide reading assessment data are explored. Several chapters discuss new ways in which some states conduct reading…

This guide for parents explains implications of the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which requires the participation of students with disabilities in statewide and districtwide assessments, leading to greater accountability by the educational system for educational results for all students. The guide notes that…