The development of a scoring tool to be used with alternative and authentic assessment strategies is discussed, describing the parts of such a tool and the development process. The design is based on the Innovation Configuration (IC) process of the Concerns-Based Adoption Model. To begin, components of the test task are identified. Variations that…

Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS) were developed to score responses from a previously designed police written communication test that lacked reliability. Rating scales for each of the 9 dimensions of the test consisted of the scale definition and a 5-point continuum, with the scores of 5, 3, and 1 defined by specified behavioral…

The purpose of this document is to provide administrators, teachers, and students with samples of students' writing that exemplify the criteria used to score students' written responses on the June 1993 Grade 3 Language Learning Achievement Test and the written component of the performance assessment administered to a provincial sample of grade 3…

A framework for categorizing constructed-response items was developed in which items were ordered on a continuum from multiple-choice to presentation/performance according to the degree of constraint placed on the examinee's response. Two investigations were carried out to evaluate the validity of this framework. In the first investigation, 27…

Documentation and assessment are important elements in securing continuity, progress, and flexibility in the teaching and learning of young children. This article explores the first year of portfolio assessment in a kindergarten in Finland, asking such questions as: (1) What are portfolios and why are Taija (one particular student), her peers,…

The traditional concept of validity divides it into three separate types; content, criterion, and construct validities. This view is fragmented and incomplete, failing to take into account evidence of the value implications of score meaning as a basis for action and of the social consequences of score use. The new unified concept of validity…

In contrast to multiple choice, alternative modes of assessment afford varying degrees of openness in the allowable responses. Prominent among the alternatives is the assessment of performance, sometimes in its own right where the issue is the quality of the particular performance per se, but more often as a vehicle for the assessment of…

In the fall of 1992, the National Association of Test Directors (NATD) surveyed its members on their involvement in the development of performance assessments and scoring rubrics. The extent to which members have developed performance assessments is reported, along with how they went about it, the advice they would offer others who are developing…

Predicated on a belief that assessment and evaluation should be vital, planned aspects of the curriculum, this booklet describes classroom-based assessment that serves to inform teachers, students, and parents of the learner's growth as well as to suggest next-step instructional goals. Procedures developed by classroom teachers which integrate…

Presenting nine case studies describing new assessment efforts, this book is designed to foster communication and dialogue about the products and the processes of development. Comprehensive introductory and concluding chapters examine the background of and future challenges facing authentic assessment. Intermediate chapters discusses authentic…

This paper presents a study of primary and secondary mathematics teachers' changing assessment practices in the context of policy, stakeholder, and personal presses for change. Two cohorts of teachers, one of 35 elementary, middle school, and high school teachers and the other of 24 elementary and middle school teachers participated. Using survey…

This report presents the manner in which a systemic approach of combining standards, assessment, and accountability into a unified set of laws and regulations has been coming onto the state scene for the past 2 decades. A complete performance-based education accountability system includes four components: standards and assessment, multiple…

The degree to which modifications to the format of the scoring rubric and the associated training procedures affect the technical quality of the resulting scores was studied, and the perceived utility of each scoring method for influencing a teacher's instructional decisions positively was investigated. Two different methods were used to score…

National educational reform presents an unprecedented opportunity to combine policy options, the best technological knowledge, and American concerns about equity and fairness. There are three principal concerns regarding equity in assessment of Limited-English-proficient (LEP) and other student populations: (1) if students are not assessed because…

A quality evaluation program is needed to determine student progress in the language arts. Evaluation procedures emphasized should appraise in terms of stated objectives. A variety of procedures should be used since no approach is perfect. Approaches include: instructor observation of student progress; completion of checklists or rating scales;…