Preservice student teachers engaged in a collaborative research initiative to examine the memory of the 1954 "Brown v. Topeka Board of Education" decision that culminated in a public performance. Ethnographic data were translated into performance texts through students' performances that confronted issues of privilege, race, and institutional…

There are numerous studies in literature related to the use of cartoons in physics, chemistry and mathematics education. However the studies on the use of cartoons as an alternative assessment tool are highly limited. This study was concerned with the use of cartoons as an alternative assessment method. There were five cartoons prepared related to…

To improve teaching and assessment for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities and to truly ensure that state accountability systems address the performance of these students, a better understanding of the instructional effects of accountability systems as perceived by school leaders (i.e., principals) is critically important.…

Three sections of the same distance education class completed a series of Web-based concept map assessments using one of two methods. Open-ended maps applied in section 1 led students to conduct more relational thinking overall, but variance in map items was very high introducing more subjectivity in scoring. Pre-selected term mapping applied in…

The 2006-2007 school year was the eighth annual reporting period since disaggregating the performance of students with disabilities on state and district-wide assessments was required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). It is the fifth reporting period since the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), and the…

This article examines major trends in testing and accountability reform in the United States over the past decade. The review covers the apex and decline of the national experimentation with a range of alternative assessments and the rise of test-based accountability as a central policy initiative. These trends signify that testing has become a…

The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the literature evaluating the impact of high-stakes testing for students with learning disabilities. In this review, 30 studies were obtained, reviewed, and synthesized. Findings discuss the definition and description of high-stakes testing, origins of high-stakes testing for students with…

Recent educational developments such as constructivism and multiple intelligence theories as well as society requested new trends engendered to radical change in traditional approaches of instruction and assessment. For this reason, alternative assessment approaches are needed in assessing both learning process and learning product. Nowadays, one…

This paper studies methods for evaluating instruction in higher education. We explore student evaluations of instruction and a variety of alternatives. We develop a simple model to illustrate the biases inherent in student evaluations. Measuring learning using grades in future courses, we show that student evaluations are positively related to…

The rise in the number of children with autism poses challenges to professionals in the field of early care and education. The restricted patterns of communicating, relating, and behaving seen often in children with autism necessitate a sophisticated approach to assessment. There is an increasing need in the field to use alternative assessment…

This article examines three typical approaches to alternate assessment for students with significant cognitive disabilities--portfolios, performance assessments, and rating scales. A detailed analysis of common and unique design features of these approaches is provided, including features of each approach that influence the psychometric quality of…

This article looks at the controversial starting of testing, its boycott, the subsequent years of protest and, in October 2008, the apparent end of key stage examining in England. It considers a possible alternative to the tests based on a project carried out at King's College London based on portfolio assessment.

This paper forms part of an exploration of assessment on one part-time higher education (HE) course: an in-service, professional qualification for teachers and trainers in the learning and skills sector which is delivered on a franchise basis across a network of further education colleges in the north of England. This paper proposes that the…

The aim of this study is to determine the primary school teachers' views related to the new Turkish primary school mathematics curriculum which was put into practice in the 2005-2006 academic years. A questionnaire developed by the researchers, consists of open ended and closed items, was applied to 60 primary school teachers selected randomly…

Summarizes some of the recent literature on the use of portfolios and identifies how portfolio assessment differs from traditional methods of assessment. Highlights some of the possibilities that portfolios offer for improved educational practice. Contains 16 references. (JRH)