Since 1988, Vermont has been developing an innovative performance assessment program that relies substantially on portfolios of student work. This interim report presents findings about the reliability of scores from the first statewide implementation of the portfolio program in the 1991-92 school year. The focus is not on program impact as an…

This study investigated students with specific learning disabilities (SLD), serious emotional disturbances (SED), and educable mental retardation (EMR) to determine if class size and class mix influence educational outcomes. A total of 110 students in 12 classrooms were included in the sample, which included classes with waivers (classes out of…

This study investigated associations between infants' prelinguistic communicative behaviors at 9 months and their communication and language performance at 12 and 18 months. The inclusion of both hearing (N=19) and deaf (N=16) infants in the study allowed identification of effects related to the receptive communication modality (vision versus…

The International Language Testing Association has some 250 members in 15 countries. Most are specialists in the testing of second language skills, with a special interest in performance assessment because of the testing of speaking and writing performance that is critical to second language skills assessment. The association believes that certain…

Idaho's "Schools 2000 and Beyond--An Action Plan for Idaho" report (1992) identified 12 strategies for improving student performance in its elementary and secondary schools. One of them, a "transition to a performance-based system," suggests a process that first describes what students ought to learn and how they should be able…

Statewide testing programs, such as Utah's, provide a rich source of performance data. This paper builds on the work of Klitgaard (1974) and identifies educational objectives and corresponding measures by which educators can more fully describe the performance of their school system, utilizing statewide testing data. Methodology involved…

This pamphlet guides Hispanic parents in helping their children succeed academically, based on findings from a study of 10 high-achieving Puerto Rican high school students. The students described specific family factors which supported and nurtured their academic achievement. Guidelines for parents are extracted from these factors and include: (1)…

A theory of portfolio assembly is presented and used to guide analysis of portfolios. Features of a portfolio evaluation approach known as the Cognitive Model for Assessing Portfolios (CMAP) are outlined. This model assumes that portfolios begin as relatively simple collections and gradually grow into complex, articulate stories of knowing. It is…

This thesis surveyed 160 teachers, 61 counselors, and 82 principals from Kansas public schools to determine their knowledge of attention deficit disorder in school-aged children. The independent variables investigated were position, extent of inservice education, gender, size of the participant's school, years of experience in education, and…

Although researchers have examined the link between job attitudes and turnover, some studies claim that civilian samples may not be generalizable to military personnel. This paper addresses two central questions: (1) To what extent does job satisfaction, job performance, and reenlistment intentions predict reenlistment behavior?; (2) To what…

This paper contends that the survey research approach is limited for generating substantive data to improve college teaching, because it is impersonal, lacks opportunities for probing, suppresses the idea of discourse by offering fixed-choice and yes-no questions, disregards respondents' social and personal contexts of meaning, and is dependent on…

One of the most influential contemporary trends in educational evaluation in the United States is the move away from traditional testing methods toward "authentic assessments," which are designed to measure student performance of skills, abilities, and knowledge directly. While there is no consensus as to precisely what constitutes authentic…

A residential group care facility serving abused children had encountered unprecedented changes both internally and in the community. These changes had been highly stressful for this agency, affecting the morale of those closest to the children, the Child/Youth Care Workers. To address these stressors, a strategy utilizing supportive,…

This paper explores the scope of "failure" in the period of practice immediately prior to teacher certification, by examining personal experiences of 25 preservice teachers who "failed" or hovered in failure-like circumstances. Indicators of failure included poor interpersonal skills, lack of primary focus on students, lack of commitment and…

Since 1983, discussions focused increasingly on the contribution to economic performance associated with the skills of the work force. Government policy went further by specifying skills important to economic performance and advocating their introduction into schools and training programs. Surprisingly little empirical research examined the…