This book is intended to help early childhood practitioners develop the essential understanding they require for appropriate use of assessment and evaluation information and to illuminate many of the issues involved in formal and informal assessment and evaluation. The chapters are: (1) "Assessment and Evaluation in the Early Childhood…

To be numerate is to be able to function mathematically in one's daily life. The kinds of mathematics skills and understandings necessary to function effectively in daily life are changing. Despite an awareness in Australia of new skills necessary for the information age and calls that the schools should be instrumental in preparing students with…

Alternative assessments, also called authentic or performance assessments, have first the common notion of a meaningful performance or product. The use of such alternatives with students belonging to nondominant language and cultural groups is of interest because of the hope that this type of assessment can show what these students can really do…

A variety of adults were surveyed on alternative strategies for the State of Louisiana's minimum competency testing program. Both individual and group interviews were conducted with teachers, local school district supervisors and program administrators, parents, and state board of education members. Participants discussed what a state testing…

How is your special-education curriculum impacted by the requirements of IDEA and NCLB? How can you improve student learning and retention to positively influence assessment results? What methods are available for determining your students' present level of performance? In this second edition of "Accessing the General Curriculum", Nolet…

Surveys show that 98% of school districts are reporting shortages of special education teachers, and that nearly a quarter of a million new special education teachers will be needed over the next few years. Special education teachers are leaving the field at twice the rate of general education teachers. Why? Special education teachers can quickly…

Multicultural science education provides equal educational opportunities for all students to learn and enjoy science. These opportunities are predicated upon a respect for the customs, mores, and beliefs applicable to students' cultures. The articles in this book, authored by individuals of culturally diverse backgrounds, present several cogent…

The different views regarding what constitutes learning success and progression in England's post-16 learning sector and the problem of meeting current policy and funding priorities stressing tangible and measurable outcomes while simultaneously responding to learners' needs and preferences were examined in a discussion that drew upon policy…

With greater demands being placed on postsecondary education as employers report that graduates have inadequate skills, interest has been generated in assessing student academic achievement in reliable and valid ways. A descriptive case study was used to outline the process that has been developed to identify and implement program outcomes for 55…

Discusses the Technology, Science, Mathematics Integration Project's technological problem-solving method, briefly describes 15 activities and the corresponding technology, science, and mathematics content involved (including 1 detailed example), and proposes a general structure of the activities and research in support of this approach. (MKR)

Describes journal writing as an element of multimodal teaching. Discusses how students utilize journal writing that includes pictures, numbers, symbols, and manipulatives to help understand mathematical concepts. Provides a form to evaluate students' portfolio writing and examples of students' evaluated work. (Contains 12 references.) (MDH)

Explores the implications of selected school reforms for library media services. Topics include school-based management; school choice; home schooling; inclusion of special education students; at-risk elementary students; adolescents and middle schools; secondary school issues, including school-to-work transition, curriculum reform, distance…

State and federal mandates for education reform call for increased accountability and the inclusion of students with disabilities in all accountability efforts. In the rush to implement high-stakes education reforms, particularly those involving tests or assessments, the particular needs of students with severe cognitive disabilities are only now…

The General Accounting Office (GAO), at the request of the House Committee on Education and Labor, Subcommittee on Elementary, Secondary, and Vocational Education, conducted studies on the extent and cost of testing in the United States, the experience of Canada in testing, and initial efforts to set standards for judging student performance on…

This monograph summarizes educational policy trends of the past 5 years in terms of their implications for the educational outcomes of students with disabilities. The first section reviews the gradual development of federal and state policies concerning goal and standard-setting activities, accountability, and large-scale and alternative…