This synthesis report provides a historical look back over the past 15 years of alternate assessment, from the early 1990s through the mid 2000s, as reported by state directors of special education on the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) state surveys, and augmented by other research and policy reports published by NCEO and related…

PEELS involves a nationally representative sample of children, 3 to 5 years of age when they entered the study, with diverse disabilities who are receiving preschool special education services in a variety of settings. Topics covered in the report include declassification (children leaving special education), reclassification (movement from one…

Analysis of the cost-effectiveness of 29 Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) models suggests that all 29 models are less cost-effective than an alternative approach for raising student achievement, involving rapid assessment systems that test students 2 to 5 times per week in math and reading and provide rapid feedback of the results to students and…

The purposes of this article are to provide the sequence of learning events about the integration of curricula and technology using modules prepared by the Southeast Teachers Are Revitalizing Teaching Through Technology (START) Technology Team and to describe the impact these technology modules had on university faculty and candidates at Alabama…

Teachers who work together to blend academic and career/technical (CT) instruction have found a key to motivating students to complete high school and prepare for college, advanced training and careers. This newsletter highlights key strategies schools are using to join academic and technical studies to advance student motivation and achievement.…

This study featured validity evidence for scores from states' alternate assessments of alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AASs). It evaluated students from 6 states who were eligible for an AA-AAS concurrently with measures of academic competence and adaptive behavior. The investigators also assessed students with disabilities who were…

This study examined the use of generalizability theory to evaluate the quality of an alternative assessment (journal writing) in mathematics. Twenty-nine junior college students wrote journal tasks on the given topics and two raters marked the tasks using a scoring rubric, constituting a two-facet G-study design in which students were crossed with…

Based on recent federal legislation, alternate assessments for students with disabilities may now be based on alternate achievement standards, modified achievement standards, or grade-level achievement standards. Although all students with disabilities must access the general curriculum, those with significant cognitive disabilities often do so…

This book derives from a series of sessions in which a study group of elementary teachers and their principals discussed children's mathematical work in relation to alternative assessment. The purposes of this book to describe the next tier of work for teachers in alternative assessment and how that work can be applied to elementary mathematics:…

Current educational theories emphasize assessment as a vital part of teaching-learning process. Alternative assessment techniques aim to expose and promote the process of the learning rather than the final outcome. Concept mapping is a technique for representing conceptual knowledge and relationships between concepts in a graphical form. Requiring…

This topical bibliography and commentary addresses methods of alternative, or informal, assessment that have proven effective, and how these methods have been, or can be, established as reliable alternatives to standardized testing. It discusses authentic assessment, forms of alternative assessment (unstructured written activities, unstructured…

Describes the development of a program portfolio to document and evaluate the accomplishments of an adult literacy program as a whole--program staff as well as students. Offers suggestions for those who want to use portfolios in program evaluations. (JOW)

Describes the use of portfolios in grading and assessment. Discusses advantages of portfolio assessment, Showcase Portfolios, Checklist Portfolios, Open-Format Portfolios, student self-reflection, portfolio scoring, and student perceptions of portfolios. (JRH)

A survey received a 49% response from 136 community college/university computer instructors. Results indicate that advance preparation for online education is necessary, evaluation is a primary concern, instructors should network, and the integrity of evaluation can be ensured when using creative and alternative means of evaluation. (JOW)

Discusses alternative assessment and how it helps teaching practices. Defines embedded assessment as an ongoing, cyclical process in which teachers gather information on students' understanding and reasoning about content knowledge, then make sense and use the information to make adjustments for teaching in response to students' learning needs.…