This study used "The Competent Speaker", a rubric developed by the National Communication Association (S. P. Morreale, M. R. Moore, K. P. Taylor, D. Surges-Tatum, & R. Hulbert-Johnson, 1993), to evaluate student performance in general education public speaking courses as a case study of student skills and programmatic assessment. Results indicate…

Sometimes bad news can be exactly what organizations or individuals need to point them in a healthier direction. That was the case at Thompson Middle School (Southfield, Michigan) in 2002, when the staff learned that the state had temporarily identified the school as needing "corrective action" after students failed to make Adequate…

This action-research paper focuses on the eorts of faculty to introduce a standards-based electronic portfolio (e-folio) requirement to aspiring educational administrators at a private university in New York over a 24 month period. The e-folio initiative was established for multiple reasons, including illustration of students' progress throughout…

The purpose of this study was to find critical features of engineering design that can be incorporated within technology education learning activities, and develop a rubric for assessing these features. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with three professors actively involved in engineering education. Supporting documents such…

Research on teacher learning consistently documents the disjuncture between the practices beginning teachers encounter in university teacher preparation courses and those they reencounter in the K-12 classrooms in which they learn to teach. As preservice teachers enter teaching, they gravitate toward conventional K-12 practices, dismissing those…

This document is designed to provide assessment materials for specific Grade 4 outcomes in the Cree Language and Culture Nine-year Program, Grades 4-5-6. The assessment materials are designed for the beginner level in the context of teaching for communicative competence. Grade 4 learning outcomes from the Cree Language and Culture Nine-year…

Secondary career-technical education programs in Mississippi are faced with many challenges resulting from sweeping educational reforms at the national and state levels. Schools and teachers are increasingly being held accountable for providing true learning activities to every student in the classroom. This accountability is measured through…

This handbook assists educators in improving the links among civic education curriculum, instruction, and assessment. First-person accounts detailing teachers' thoughts present a basis for tracing the evolution of assessment tasks and rubrics for evaluation. Samples of student work are provided to stimulate thinking and discussion. Activities for…

The time has come to shift the focus from the "what" of knowledge (content) to the "how" of learning (processes). This book is the third in a series of three books in the Process as Content trilogy. The book offers suggestions and strategies for educators beginning the journey of transferring education into a process-oriented paradigm. The book…

The convergence of the teaching as assessment movement and Total Quality Management (TQM) has implications for higher education, and communication department should adapt their pedagogy to the best of the thrusts in higher education. The Department of Communication at Central Missouri State University contains 2 of the original 10 programs that…

The aim of this study was to explore a method of improving the objectivity, reliability, and efficiency of scoring performance assessments that involve constructed written responses. Millman (1997) has suggested an alternative to using model responses at each score category. The proposed strategy, hypothesized to increase scorer reliability and…

In this paper, we advance that there are several issues pertaining to the design of research in instructional technology. It is our view that much of the current research taking place may suffer from poor quality, inappropriate design, and lack of social responsibility. We contend that the most appropriate way to research the effectiveness of…

The PAAP Rubrics are designed for planning and implementation of the State's alternate assessment to the MEA, the PAAP. The PAAP has been designed to allow participation in the MEA for those students who require accommodations so significant that they would compromise the validity of the assessment (i.e., student would need accommodations that are…

Whether you're a stream studies novice or a veteran aquatic monitor, "Watershed Dynamics" gives you abundant practical resources to extend your students' investigations into local water quality and land-use issues. This two-part set is ideal for teaching biological and ecological concepts and research techniques. It also shows how the interplay…

This journal presents the following articles: "Introduction: Volume 14--Examining Performance" (Marie Cora) "Fair Assessment Practices: Giving Students Equitable Opportunities to Demonstrate Learning" (Linda Suskie); "Assessing Oral Communication at the Community Learning Center Development of the OPT (Oral Proficiency Test)" (JoAnne Hartel and…