Performance assessment (observational assessment) can be an effective alternative to traditional paper and pencil tests when measuring academic achievement. Benefits of performance tests include: (1) testing knowledge synthesis rather than just knowlege acquisition; (2) allowing for diagnosis of individual needs and an immediate adjustment of…

This sampler presents assessment tasks that are appropriate for use with students from age 4 through age 8. The book provides teachers of primary grades mathematics with examples of assessment tasks that reflect the various ways assessments can be used prior to, during, and following mathematics instruction. Teachers can then consider the …

Scandal has once again brought attention to the nation's child welfare system. In response to the news that Florida's child welfare bureaucracy could not account for hundreds of children supposedly in its care (2002), investigative journalists have found evidence of similar problems in other states. Ironically, the news that some states cannot…

This report presents the results of the California Community Colleges Partnership for Excellence Survey of Local Investments of Partnership Funds as completed by the Los Angeles Community Colleges. The goal of this report is to provide an informative analysis of that survey data in relation to the five Partnerships for Excellence goals as a basis…

This document addresses the CLAST results for Miami-Dade Community College (M-DCC) in June 2002. The results can be useful in developing strategies to enhance the CLAST pass rates of M-DCC students. Specifically, the document addresses the following three areas: first time pass rate increases in essay, reading, and mathematics, education majors…

This document addresses the CLAST results for Miami-Dade Community College (M-DCC) in 2001. The results can be useful in developing strategies to enhance the CLAST pass rates of M-DCC students. Specifically, the document addresses the following three areas: first time and retake pass rates, performance of first time examinees by skill area,…

This document addresses the CLAST results for Miami Dade Community College (M-DCC) in 2002. The results can be useful in developing strategies to enhance the CLAST pass rates of M-DCC students. Specifically, the document addresses the following three areas: first time and retake pass rates, performance of first time examinees by skill area,…

This document addresses the retention of second language students at Miami-Dade Community College in October 2002. Overall, retention of second language students has improved since the previous year. It should be noted that despite the increase in retention, fewer students are passing all of their lower level EAP courses. The report contains…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 1998 Civics Assessment measured student knowledge, intellectual and participatory skills, and civic dispositions at the fourth grade level. This publication describes fourth graders' performance based on 30 questions from the fourth-grade assessment. Twenty-three of the thirty questions were…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 1998 Civics Assessment measured students' knowledge, their intellectual and participatory skills, and their civic dispositions at the 12th-grade level. This publication describes 12th graders performance on 38 questions from the 12th-grade assessment. Thirty-one of the thirty-eight questions…

In 1992, adult education staff and adult literacy volunteer organizations developed 8 indicators of program quality to be used for evaluating adult basic education and English as a Second Language (ESL) programs in New Jersey. Performance standards were developed to match the standards. An evaluation was conducted to determine how the indicators…

Writing fits well within the realm of outcomes suitable for observation by performance assessments. Studies of the reliability of performance assessments have suggested that interrater reliability can be consistently high. Scoring consistency, however, is only one aspect of quality in decisions based on assessment results. Another is…

This paper describes how results of the Golden West College Speech Department's program review led to the alignment of performance-based communication prerequisite and outcome expectations for: student placement recommendation; consistency of course curriculum and sequencing; measures of content-based competencies; and measures of…

Continuing to respond to the increasing demand for the assessment of authentic language use, this book emphasizes that portfolios must first be useful and successful as part of instruction before they can be used effectively for assessment. Portfolios are presented as "working," not "show" portfolios, to promote the student's involvement in…

In England and Wales, a National Curriculum initiated in 1988 was designed to ensure that all schools provided a curriculum which represented different areas of knowledge. The past 20 years has increasingly seen more emphasis on the link between the financial amounts spent on education and subsequent return on this money. The impact of the…