The practicum experience in the field of recreation and leisure studies is an important aspect of a student's preparation for the field of recreation and leisure services. This workbook covers the requirements for everyone involved in the practicum experience: student, agency, agency supervisor, college/university, director of field placement, and…

This report provides an overview of the use of functional assessment in the evaluation of individuals with psychiatric disabilities. It begins by discussing the difficulties with traditional forms of assessment and the development of functional assessment, particularly in the field of psychiatric rehabilitation. The need to not rely on any single…

This paper discusses the implications for educational reform in the United States of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) comparative study of performance standards. To provide some context for the reader, the paper briefly reprises major shifts in the intellectual underpinnings of U.S. educational reform and reports on…

The role of performance assessments in making cognitive activity apparent to teachers and students was studied through descriptions of the cognitive activity of 31 fifth-grade students. Differences while carrying out a science performance assessment reveal critical differences between those who think and reason well with their knowledge of…

The implementation of the Dallas (Texas) Public Schools 1995-96 Title I PK-2 reading and language arts portfolio entailed monitoring and data collection to determine the student outcomes and the technical quality of the instrument. A total of 2,001 portfolios were reviewed for prekindergarten through grade 2. The components were generally in place…

Comparative results are presented for procedures recently appearing in literature related to standard setting on the National Assessment of Educational Progress--the paper selection method and the contrasting group method. For this comparison, a probabilistic model with normal distribution of performance and a six-point scale were assumed. The…

This booklet explores how a synergy between assessment and instruction can be forged to enhance student outcomes, especially for students with disabilities. The booklet defines and discusses assessment that enhances instruction, provides an overview of important criteria for judging the utility of this type of assessment, describes previous…

The quantity of information obtained by performance assessments, compared to traditional testing methods, not only offers the potential for a great deal more feedback to educators, students, parents, and policy makers, but also presents educational personnel with the additional challenge of developing new techniques for effectively disseminating…

The applicability of a standardized performance measurement procedure is critically investigated, in order to assess reading growth for students with severe reading difficulties in a longitudinal design. To establish an appropriate growth model, several approaches are reviewed. Among them, a simplex model is chosen and tested with various…

This digest examines issues concerning performance assessment of students receiving special education services. Issues addressed are: (1) need to infuse performance assessment into national programs including the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS); (2) current lack of inclusion of…

Previous research using various measures of teacher quality has largely failed to investigate the relationships among such assessment measures using multivariate procedures. Multivariate investigations are essential in studies of teacher competence because these methods view various competency variables in the larger contexts to which researchers…

This study explored the use of multiple-choice item formats and performance formats for assessment of learning science at the second grade level. It was completed during a 2-week unit entitled "Living Systems" that addressed Virginia Standards of Learning for second grade science. A 7-day unit was designed and both multiple-choice and…

This paper reports on a standard-setting method designed for complex performance assessments with multiple performance categories. The method studied, the Analytical Judgment Method, involves panelists' making analytical classification decisions for each of the test's components individually. It also allows for discussion and reconsideration of…

A central task in evaluating a prototype education program is to study the variability of delivery and outcomes from site to site. The evaluation should also indicate what to expect and what to do when a Teacher Enhancement Program (TEP) program becomes fully operational. An approach to evaluating TEPs was developed and applied to a concrete case,…

To say that assessments must be authentic, dynamic, fluid, and formative is not to say that normative, standardized evaluations have no place in the overall assessment scheme. What is needed is a combination and balance of assessments. The tri-assessment model promotes using traditional assessments along with portfolio and performance assessments.…