This paper describes a study that investigated the interchangeability of four different assessment methods for measuring middle-school students' understanding of science concepts. The four methods compared were hands-on tasks with associated multiple-choice and written justification items, written analogues of the hands-on tasks, and two types of…

The nine-volume Survey Kit is designed to help readers prepare and conduct surveys and become better users of survey results. All the books in the series contain instructional objectives, exercises and answers, examples of surveys in use, illustrations of survey questions, guidelines for action, checklists of "dos and don'ts," and…

This paper discusses the significant underrepresentation of linguistically and/or culturally diverse (LCD) students in gifted and talented programs due to the absence of adequate assessment procedures and programming for gifted minority students and the need for professionals in gifted and bilingual education to work together to overcome these…

This guide for parents explains implications of the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which requires the participation of students with disabilities in statewide and districtwide assessments, leading to greater accountability by the educational system for educational results for all students. The guide notes that…

This document contains four papers from a symposium on the performance evaluation process and human resource development (HRD). "Assessing the Effectiveness of OJT (On the Job Training): A Case Study Approach" (Julie Furst-Bowe, Debra Gates) is a case study of the effectiveness of OJT in one of a high-tech manufacturing company's product…

The 1989 document, "Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics" (the "Standards"), provides a vision and a framework for revising and strengthening the K-12 mathematics curriculum in North American schools and for evaluating both the mathematics curriculum and students' progress. When completed, it is expected…

The effectiveness of four technical assistance-oriented services/products of one regional educational laboratory was studied. The services/products studied included a thinking skills activities workbook for classroom teachers, a videotape for rural educators on exemplary software for developing the thinking skills of at-risk students, a research…

Assessments should improve performance by providing usable feedback, and should not merely audit it. Problems with educational accountability policies stem from a flawed view of student assessment. Intellectual excellence cannot be obtained via one-time mandated tests composed of proxies for real challenges. Common standards should be developed…

This book is the fourth edition in a series designed to assist instructors in planning programs and teaching courses in leadership. The book is organized in the following seven sections: (1) a list of courses and programs in leadership, arranged by institution with contact person--courses and programs at colleges and universities, programs of…

The California Assessment Program (CAP) administers tests to all public school students at certain grade levels, compiles the results, and provides information that allows educators to judge the effectiveness of their programs and make improvements. This sampler describes the types of assessment that CAP proposes to respond to the needed changes…

The Maryland School Performance Program released six sample tasks to illustrate the types of assessment tasks that would appear on the 1992 Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP). Students' responses to these tasks are open-ended; that is, students generate their own responses. A wide range of responses to each task is acceptable.…

The relationship among various characteristics of evaluation studies and their overall quality was studied using all of the evaluation studies (N=366) conducted in Israel over 30 years on special projects for disadvantaged students at the elementary school level. The following variables were defined to describe each study: (1) evaluation…

Changes in confidence to perform selected evaluation activities that occurred for 45 preservice teachers majoring in elementary school education during their student teaching experience were studied. Self-confidence was measured before and after the student teaching semester using the Mississippi State University Survey of Confidence in Teaching…

This manual offers guidance on the use of the Alternate Portfolio Assessment Process to evaluate outcomes of Kentucky students with severe disabilities. Portfolios are intended to showcase student work and allow performance-based evaluation across life domain activities. Criteria for determining eligibility of students with disabilities for this…

Textbooks that have been and are being used by students in education and psychology to learn about statistical testing are reviewed. Twenty-eight textbooks published prior to 1950 were reviewed. These textbooks were found to focus on descriptive methods, to concentrate on educational testing, and to present limited formal statistical formulation.…