The way in which trait and rater variance combine in multitrait-multirater (MTMR) performance appraisal data is explored. Implications of the confirmatory factor analytic model and the composite direct product (CDP) model for MTMR data are examined. Superior fit of the CDP model for four data sets is discussed. (SLD)

In 1988, Indiana adopted a system of performance-based accreditation for its public schools. This article summarizes a study to describe the program's planning and implementation processes, evaluate program effects, and determine whether relationships exist among successful school improvement and planning and three elements identified in the…

Today's educational goals are too varied to be adequately evaluated only by conventional tests and measures. The wide variability of adolescents' development requires assessment devices that transcend the limitations of traditional paper-and-pencil assessments. Assessment should be continuous, comprehensive, multidimensional, collaborative, and…

Discusses the National Commission on Testing and Public Policy's critique of current standardized testing on grounds of its inequities and its effects on curriculum. Finds that one kind of alternative assessment that can realign assessment with curriculum is authentic assessment. Focuses on performance assessment. Connects authentic and…

Describes a staff-development course for middle school teachers which builds a collaborative learning environment using the Internet and Lotus Notes Learning Space. The course features activities that demonstrate performance outcomes, interactive instructional strategies, authentic assessment, and a student-centered learning environment that…

Describes the Rasch calibration of a portion of the Watkins Farnum Performance Scale (J. Watkins and S. Farnum, 1954), a test of instructional music performance, for 218 sixth graders. Results show how Rasch scaling allows item difficulties to be estimated, the test to be administered more efficiently, and diagnostic information to be obtained.…

Reviews literature and discusses the results of a study that examined supervisor ethical practices. Results indicate that 51% of the supervisees sampled reported at least one ethical violation by their supervisors. Most frequently violated guidelines involved adequate performance evaluation, confidentiality issues, and ability to work with…

Details the University of Colorado (CU) Assessment Project, designed to help teachers create and implement classroom-based performance assessments to complement mathematics and literacy instructional goals. Notes patterns of change, including: instructional and assessment practices with greater emphasis on conceptual understanding; higher…

This article begins with the state of assessment of young children with special needs in the 1960s and traces changes through the end of the century. The embrace of multiple assessment measures, including standardized, norm-referenced measures and informal, functional measures is discussed and development of ecologically valid assessments is…

Describes the experiences of a group of university colleagues working with middle schools in an Australian collaborative research project on authentic assessment, focusing on the tensions that arose from the diverse expectations of the schools, the particular project, the university, and the academics, and describing how the project supported and…

Del Schalock, Mark Schalock, and David Myton suggest that the education profession is stuck on an "input" teacher-assessment approach that fails to consider effects on student learning. They offer the Oregon Work Sampling Methodology as an exemplary alternative to portfolios and performance assessments. Although the Oregon WSM is a…

The usefulness of the 1992 TSA in reading was studied using interviews from 26 state directors of assessment. Perceptions about TSA credibility and orientation of test components and current use of TSA results were examined. The directors suggested involving more teachers in assessment, modifying descriptors, disseminating results quicker, and…

In 1992, faculty at a Midwestern university developed and tested a leadership expertise performance assessment system to use with educational administration students. The system includes five performance rubrics, job-related criteria, and multiple evidences for determining leadership expertise. Successful performance reflects inquiry-oriented…

Describes the processes in which judges, trying out an integrative approach to portfolio evaluation for the first time, engage as they construct and document their conclusions. The research agenda in which this research is situated is described. (SLD)

Rubric-related and rubric-unrelated features used by teacher raters to assign scores to constructed response items for mathematics and reading assessment were studied by looking at 1000 papers from Kansas seventh and tenth graders. Results validated the influence of correctness of answer in both mathematics and reading holistic scores. (SLD)