Describes the use of portfolios, which include student test scores, GPAs, samples of class work, and student surveys, as tools for assessing student ability and success at the Colorado School of Mines. Discusses the strengths and weaknesses of portfolio assessment as well as instructional and institutional changes brought about by the evaluation…

The accuracy of statistics based on performance assessments that represent percentages of students reaching standards is explored using data from a large-scale performance assessment, the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program. Results with students in grades 3, 5, and 8 support the accuracy of pooling results to produce the statistics.…

Conceptual, practical, and logistical issues in the development of science performance assessments (SPAs) are discussed. The conceptual framework identifies task, response format, and scoring system as components, and conceives of SPAs as tasks that attempt to recreate conditions in which scientists work. Developing SPAs is a sophisticated effort…

Discusses how one teacher encouraged students to communicate mathematically when discussing the lyrics to the song "Billy Boy." Students' problem solving was assessed by means of classroom discussion. (MKR)

The experience of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards illustrates how issues of assessing the content representativeness of performance assessment can be addressed to ensure validity for certification procedures. Explores the challenges of collecting validation evidence when expert judgments of content are used. (SLD)

This paper describes an alternative portfolio practicum option for veteran teachers seeking certification and/or a graduate degree in special education while on the job. It explains eligibility for students to participate in the Portfolio Practicum, mandatory components and learning activities (e.g., seminars and consultations), and outcomes for…

Notes that across the United States, a growing number of higher education institutions and local public school districts have formed school-university partnerships to improve teacher preparation and public school student achievement. Explains that performance-based standards have had a profound impact on how undergraduates are prepared to meet the…

Through the standard error, rather than a reliability coefficient, generalizability theory provides an indicator of the uncertainty attached to school and individual scores on performance assessments. Recommendations are made to apply generalizability theory to current performance assessments, emphasizing practices that differ from usual…

This article discusses using performance based assessment in the social studies classroom. The intent is to show how performance assessment in a social studies classroom can be the basis for providing integrated social science instruction using state standards to address student academic diversity. Elements of classroom performance assessments are…

Used Rasch analytic procedures to study item bias or differential item functioning in both dichotomous and scalar items on a test of English for academic purposes. Results for 139 college students on a pilot English language test model the approach and illustrate the measurement challenges posed by a diagnostic instrument to measure English…

Examined the effects of 2 examinee sample characteristics (group heterogeneity and performance level) on score reliability of optimal performance measurement using extant data sets of more 50,000 high school students and 10,000 sixth graders. Results suggest that both characteristics affect score reliability, and measurement error tends to be…

Chronicles the Providence College Elementary/Special Education Program's move from one which relied upon input measures to evaluate student teachers to one focusing on output measures (performance in coursework and the classroom). The paper describes steps taken to implement standards and their measured attainment into college coursework and…

Examined whether a structured free recall intervention could decrease the influence of traditional gender stereotypes on the performance evaluations of women. College students provided performance ratings for vignettes describing the performance of male and female professors. Without the intervention, raters who had traditional stereotypes…

Researchers' interests in direct-writing assessment are traced, and conclusions are drawn about how far such research has come in the last 15 years. Focus is on the concerns evident in the bulk of the work done on writing assessment and on the direction in which writing assessment is moving. (SLD)

Canadian Safeguards Support Program established performance-based training for International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors. The approach is based on actual tasks performed on the job, the most efficient and effective means of achieving the highest performance in situations with complex training requirements. (SK)