Addresses fairness in teacher evaluation by describing a process that includes clear definitions of competencies and ratings, communication of expectations, verbal and written feedback, teacher input, and a summary of observations over a period of time. Suggests adaptation of examples of a special education evaluation form and standards…

This report provides a comprehensive summary of statistical data on the state of education in Alabama. It is divided into eight sections: (1) General school information (students, staffing); (2) State accountability (adequate yearly progress status, adequate yearly progress summary); (3) Student academic performance (Alabama reading and…

Summarizes findings from the Key Performance Indicator Satisfaction Survey administered by Sheridan College in the summer 2000, fall 2000, and winter 2001 terms. This survey was administered in compliance with the Ontario government's efforts to increase the accountability of the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology through the measurement of…

This assessment report concerns the Los Angeles Trade-Technical College and the information, which is reported to the Los Angeles Community College District. The data was gathered through interviews conducted by an outside company. The report summarizes what interviewers learned about Trade-Tech's past and present and offers recommendations to…

This booklet sets out the state standards for students in Wyoming public schools for succeeding in the Fine and Performance Arts in grades K-12. Five standards are defined for benchmark grades 4, 8, and 11: (1) creative expression through production; (2) artistic perception; (3) aesthetic valuing; (4) historical and cultural context; and (5)…

This book provides a perspective on what standards for learning mean for daily practice in public education, offering teachers and administrators a four-part structure for organizing classrooms for teaching to the standards and giving teachers specific strategies for helping students reach the higher requirements. The four practices combine all of…

This study examines the process through which the Commission on Public Secondary Schools of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC/CPSS) accredits the public high schools of New England. The commission is one of five that compose the association. Recent efforts of government agencies to hold schools accountable by testing…

This book illustrates how problem-based learning (PBL) can enliven curriculum and lesson planning by encouraging students to play a more central role in their own learning process. It provides a framework for efficiently and effectively teaching problem-solving skills, tapping children's interests and previous knowledge, and making the curriculum…

"The Profiles in Practice: School Reporting Software" provides a framework for reports on different aspects of performance in an assessment program. This booklet is the installation guide and user manual for the Profiles in Practice software, which is included as a CD-ROM. The chapters of the guide are: (1) "Installation"; (2) "Starting the…

This study explored some aspects of reasoning needed to complete science performance assessments, i.e., students' hands-on investigations scored for the scientific justifiability of the findings. The reasoning demands of science performance assessments were studied focusing on three dimensions identified from a previous analysis of data from the…

Whether performance assessments can be claimed to be more inclusive than traditional assessments was studied in an investigation of whether a student's perceptions of control can be detected in a performance assessment score. It was hypothesized that students' perceptions of control would show no effect on their scores on an objective test of…

As schools move toward performance assessment, there is increasing discussion of using these assessments for accountability purposes. When used for making decisions, performance assessments must meet high standards of validity and reliability. One major source of unreliability in performance assessments is interrater disagreement. In this paper,…

This report identifies the elements for improving performance in a standards-based system and carefully examines the incentives for students, teachers, schools, and states. Student incentives include using standards for promotion and admissions to higher education, standards for graduation from high school, requirements for employment or entry…

This book uses an extended case study to guide readers through the complexities of evaluating service learning outcomes and their relevance to the curriculum. Eight chapters include: (1) "What Is Service Learning?" (e.g., definition and rationale, developing a service learning program, and standards for effective programs); (2) "The…

This monograph is the outgrowth of a conference that explored research concerns related to multi-cultural and cross-cultural contexts in art education. In the monograph, presentations are organized into three sections. Section 1 deals with basic research methods and methodologies, and introduces new methodological perspectives for consideration.…