Two-year ethnographic study with 25 working-class, 9th-and 10th-grade, black and Latino/Latina students to examine how they interpret and negotiate college-going processes. Findings suggest three interrelated strategies of negotiations: (1) challenging negative perceptions and expectations of urban youth; (2) "passing" academic…

This article summarizes concerns expressed at the SENCo-Forum about the stress that the Key Stage 1 Standard Assessment Tasks procedures place on children with special needs. Concerns include effects on student confidence, forcing teachers into roles that run counter to their educational ethos, and the time given to test preparation. (CR)

Reports on the development of a self-rating instrument for writing. The instrument engages learners in responding to a writing task and assessing their own proficiency against a set of benchmarks. Provides a description of the self-rating procedure, an account of instrument development, a report on a usability study with six learners of Finnish as…

Discussion of problems in documenting student performance and progress focuses on middle-secondary subject matter, the state standards that are fundamental to most large-scale assessment systems, and curriculum text structures that limit the type of learning that can be documented. It suggests critical thinking measures as an alternative procedure…

A study compared the extent of agreement between parents and professional evaluators regarding the cognitive level of 41 children (ages 2-10) with autism. Significant differences were found. In addition, there was significant correlation between the level of agreement and cognitive functioning; agreement increased as the level of cognitive…

This article highlights some of the defining characteristics of distance education courses and their impact on traditional assessment practices for instructors and students, including those with learning disabilities. Factors that instructors need to consider for dealing with test accommodations for students with learning disabilities are…

This article examines a process for teachers to use when deciding whether to adapt a text for a student. The following five options for text adaptations are described: bypass reading, decrease reading, support reading, organize reading, and guide reading. Adaptations for student work products and for tests are also addressed. (Contains…

This study was conducted in the context of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) research to conceptually validate the roles of breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge in reading comprehension in academic settings and to empirically evaluate a test measuring three elements of the depth dimension of vocabulary knowledge, including,…

In this intervention study, training was found to increase the quality and extent of participation and accommodation documentation on the Individualized Education Program (IEP) of students with disabilities in three Illinois school districts. Correlations between what was documented on the IEP and what happened on testing day were highly variable.…

Reviews the literature on computer use in second language and foreign language learning from 1990 to 2000 inclusive under the categories of potentials of computer technology use in specific areas; software for language skills; software design considerations; computerized language testing; and research findings from studies using quantitative…

This article argues that standardized tests mandated by No Child Left Behind Act will not produce improved learning opportunities and outcomes. It offers three recommendations for changing educational practices and the law: Districts and states must emphasize assessment for learning; districts should implement new forms of accountability; people…

Performance assessment, unlike a multiple-choice or true-false test, requires students to perform a task or generate a response. This article promotes performance assessment as a way to measure student learning. It contains research findings, principles of performance assessment, seven steps toward performance assessment, and seven references.…

Describes how to use quizzes, tests, writing assignments, and other assessments to improve instruction and help students learn. Suggests that instead of teaching to the test, teachers test what they teach and follow assessments with corrective instruction. Also discusses the benefits of assessments. (Contains 14 references.) (WFA)

Discussion of the low use of Web resources in K-12 classrooms focuses on a study that tested the hypothesis that teachers who discussed how to use Web resources during computer-mediated communications would have higher attitudes toward the use of Web resources in their classrooms than teachers who did not. (Author/LRW)

Describes a study of 460 second, sixth, and tenth graders that was conducted to explore the effects of content and development on children's perceptions of the social reality of television series featuring families with children and teenagers. Hypotheses tested are explained, measures used are described, and future research is suggested. (42…