An assessment tool was designed and implemented to increase consistent application among and between multiple raters assessing students in driver education. The targeted population was students in grades 9 through 12 enrolled in drive education at a high school in an affluent suburb near a large city. The problem of a lack of a consistent…

The purpose of this study was to provide statistical evidence to demonstrate that peer collaboration on math homework increases academic performance in math. This study examined the benefits of peer collaboration on two unit tests on multiplication. It compared the results of students who worked collaboratively on homework and those who did not.…

In 1994 the State Collaborative on Assessment and Student Standards of the Council of Chief State School Officers began a study to examine the generalizability of performance-based assessments (PBAs) for state-mandated assessment programs. The intent was to examine the major sources of error associated with PBAs and the generalizability and…

This report documents progress at the Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) on the feasibility of scoring concept maps using technology. CRESST, in its integrated simulation approach to assessment, has assembled a suite of performance assessment tasks (the integrated simulation) onto which they have mapped the…

This paper examines the purpose, validity, and reliability of performance indicators in higher education, focusing on the experience of higher education institutions in the United Kingdom. Specifically, it studies the role of student entry and exit performance, teaching and staff quality, retention and completion, and placement in employment as…

This book describes two high school teachers' efforts to align curriculum, assessment, and performance standards, troubleshooting issues surrounding content standards, instructional objectives, and curricular aims. Eight chapters examine: (1) "What Does a Competent Classroom Look Like?"; (2) "What Drives a Course?" (e.g.,…

This paper examines ways to help administrators and scholars in administrator preparation make sense of the accountability debates. It links possibilities for accountability to one's epistemological lens and claims that administrators can enhance student success by taking a pluralistic view of accountability. The text recounts the historical…

The papers from this seminar focused on the role of performance indicators in distance education, particularly the planning, development, production, and distribution of performance indicators. The papers are: (1) "Inaugural Address" (G. Dhanarajan); (2) "Presidential Address" (R. G. Takwale); (3) "Performance Indicators…

The purpose of the current study was to use multilevel modeling to quantify and explain the sources of score variation in standardized patient (SP) encounters. Through laypersons trained to portray SPs and record medical student actions, SP examinations allow the measurement of examinees' clinical and interpersonal skills. In this study, the SP…

The Virginia legislature has imposed a four-year freeze on tuition for all colleges in the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). This paper suggests that freezing tuition rates can only be a temporary fix in the search to find ways to fund education. The paper examines the effects of stable or lowered tuition rates in community colleges: will…

This document consists of articles 1 through 14 of volume 6 of "Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation": (1) "Seven Myths about Literacy in the United States" (Jeff McQuillan); (2) "Implementing Performance Assessment in the Classroom" (Amy Brualdi); (3) "Some Evaluation Questions" (William Shadish); (4) "Item Banking" (Lawrence Rudner); (5)…

Research confirms that readiness skills for literacy and mathematics begin at birth and are developed in combination with life experiences. This guide provides early childhood educators a set of basic guidelines or Foundation Blocks in literacy and mathematics, with indicators of success for entering kindergarten based on scientifically-based…

According to national and state reform efforts in science and mathematics education, new forms of collaboration to foster integrated professional development for teachers are needed. These collaborations are seen as a means to involve practitioners and theoreticians in teacher education. Due to the participation of many players, collaborative…

Many corporations use the 360-degree feedback process to evaluate colleagues. This feedback process attempts to improve organizational performance by increasing the range of data included in employee appraisal. If well executed, it can accurately assess performance in strategically important competencies, establish accountability for documented…

This policy brief explains why performance focus and educational cost indexes must go hand in hand, discusses alternative methods for estimating educational cost indexes, and shows how these costs indexes can be incorporated into a performance-based state aid program. A shift to educational performance standards, whether these standards are…