Describes several ways to view senior exhibits at an urban high school employing the Coalition of Essential Schools'"graduation by exhibition" assessment method. The coalition advocates a pedagogy combining a personalized, caring environment with a focus on student production. Judges must balance warm regard with cool, critical appraisal…

Describes a study designed to evaluate the performance of an experimental semiautomatic map cataloging advisor, Mapper, in the descriptive cataloging of single-sheet maps from U.S. publishers. Hypotheses tested are discussed, treatment of experimental and control groups is described, and it is reported that Mapper helped produce better cataloging…

England's new General Certificate of Secondary Education examination has improved teaching and broadened the range of skills appraised. Besides demanding new skills, a new professionalism, and parents' and politicians' trust, performance assessment is costly and time-consuming. Despite all care and effort, some will not view this method as…

A process model for experiential learning (EL) in adult education begins with the characteristics and needs of adult learners and conceptual foundations of EL. It includes methods and techniques for in-class and field-based experiences, building a folio (point-in-time performance assessment), and portfolio construction (assessing transitional…

Presents an alternative performance-based assessment of reading comprehension and readability called the "Opin" procedure, a macroclosure procedure in which sentence endings instead of single words are deleted. Notes that readers' responses are rated on a continuum from low to high proximity with the author's intentions. (RS)

Australian researchers studied principals' responses to the Principal Performance Appraisal procedure. Interviews and a survey indicated principals were positive about the appraisal process, but they saw a considerable discrepancy between actual and ideal reasons for its introduction. They saw positive benefits if it focused on professional…

Howard Gardner is known for his theory of multiple intelligences, which holds that each individual's unique smartness cannot be measured by conventional IQ tests. Even the best students have flawed theories about existence and human behavior. Schools teach and assess everybody as though each has the same kind of mind. The ATLAS project respects…

Authentic assessment reflects the subject's content and process and the conditions for achievement, emphasizing whether students' progress is reasonable for their age and experience. Alternative assessments are having an effect on special education intervention, formative and summative evaluation, screening, referral, classification, and…

Examination of the role of psychometrics in the development of multiple-choice tests and performance-based assessments and consideration of validity and reliability issues leads to this conclusion: Choice of assessments for instruction or large-scale accountability depends on which is more appropriate for the particular purposes. Taxonomic…

A Washington high school's new school-to-work initiative requires students to demonstrate their learning and exposes them to alternative learning venues. Students assemble portfolios that document their learning, summarize their learning before the community, and outline postgraduation plans. Implementation tips are presented. (MLH)

Reviews three distinct research programs in the field of performance-based assessment that have the common goal of understanding its technical qualities and developing design strategies to use such qualities. Highlights common threads in findings that suggest a set of design strategies for future efforts at developing effective performance…

Explains the importance of performance assessment in physical education, addressing two questions that physical educators must consider. The first, what to assess, involves locating and identifying student achievement targets. The second, how to describe performance, includes identifying and describing a vision of success. Two examples from the…

Comments on the discussion by Ginette Delandshere and Anthony Petrosky of the numerical rating of complex performances in the context of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Early Adolescence/English Language Arts assessment. Conceptualizes the discussion in terms of matching information to purpose in testing. (SLD)

Responds to Susan Brookhart's comments on the discussion of assessing complex performances by Delandshere and Petrosky. Notes that the article focused on the meaning and usefulness of scores or ratings in the context of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards assessments. (SLD)

Performance-based (authentic) assessments include genuine, useful, applicable, practice-based, transferable, and demonstrable items. They include skills, knowledge, and attitudes that can be carried beyond the classroom. This paper discusses the importance of learning by doing, explains how to use performance-based assessments, and emphasizes the…