Evaluated a peer assessment procedure to factor in the contributions of individual group members engaged in an integrated group project. Findings demonstrated that the method resulted in a substantially wider spread of marks being given to individual students; about one-third received a grade different from the grade the project as a whole would…

The language of school reform is rooted predominantly in the technological perspective. Reviews technological, psychological, ideological, and sociological (descriptive and prescriptive) perspectives and elaborates on the technological, highlighting the need for competitive education, especially in math and science; efficient programs (physical…

Discusses the contextualized needs of rural language arts teachers, highlighting how one such teacher responded to challenges she faced and noting how graduate teacher education programs can be tailored to provide teachers access to the theory, pedagogical approaches, professional networks, and opportunities for empowerment that can help them…

Discusses ways in which the logic of mandated systems of mass testing, as a means of ensuring the accountability of public schools, results in the loss of local responsibility for student learning, as well as an inevitable orientation of local schools to comply with system directives over personal, professional, and community values. (Contains 55…

Presents the case study of a high school English department's decision making process during portfolio scoring, focusing on nine teachers, to show one unintended consequence of using portfolios for accountability. Findings show that because the teachers could not be equally caring, just, and truthful to all stakeholders, they experienced ethical…

Examines the national educational assessment systems of Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay to explore the role of politics and state-polity relations in shaping the design, implementation, and impact of national assessment systems. Discusses the rapid global diffusion of national assessment systems and the impact of centralized versus decentralized…

The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education developed draft standards for Professional Development Schools (PDSs). This article discusses the PDS concept and origins, examines why PDSs are important, and argues for standards as a means of supporting the PDS work and holding PDSs accountable for multiple results. The draft standards…

Examines forces motivating reform in mental health services, suggesting that mental health practitioners and researchers have relied on traditional and apparently unsuccessful methods (with little or no scientific support) to ensure service quality and effectiveness; debunking six myths about mental health services; and suggesting that…

Examines a woman superintendent's 2-year tenure in a small southern city from a feminist perspective. Against a backdrop of community/district politics, shows how gender stereotyping still influences how female superintendents are perceived as school-system leaders. Women must resist traditional images reserved for them and reinvent the…

In 1998, California voters approved Initiative 227, requiring that all limited-English children be provided an English-immersion program for 1 year or longer as needed. Hispanic parents are leaders in the movement. Dire predictions that bilingual children in English-language classrooms would fall behind have not materialized. (Contains 18…

This commentary on "Accountability for All Students: Kentucky's Alternate Portfolio Assessment for Students with Moderate and Severe Cognitive Disabilities" (Kleinert and others), discusses the convergence of the inclusion movement and school reform efforts and the ability of the portfolio assessment to facilitate the inclusion of…

Out-of-level testing in state and district assessments is becoming more popular under the reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This practice (and use of different norm-referenced tests) confounds interdistrict comparisons and contributes to inequitable assessment practices. Proper scaling can remedy this situation. (MLH)

The cost of achieving high quality at numerous levels of large-scale assessment has been astronomical--in dollars spent and opportunities lost. Educators have all but ignored assessments developed by classroom teachers. Students can become motivated by becoming involved in classroom-based assessment, record keeping, and communication. (Contains 11…

The only way public schools can keep up with the economic facts of life is by learning how to educate virtually all students to a much higher standard at current costs. Three contemporary models of school accountability are the systems used in Kentucky, Chicago, and Edmonton, Canada. (MLF)

Describes experiences of two elementary math teachers, whose dynamic, hands-on teaching techniques were at odds with components of the Kentucky Instructional Results Information System (KIRIS). Despite these teachers' successful efforts, the new Commonwealth Accountability and Testing System (CATS) replacing KIRIS will not contain portfolios. (12…