To describe their knowledge of assessment, specifically prepared scripts from 30 novice teachers were content analysed. Knowledge of the formative-summative mode was evident in all scripts but the connections made between this mode of assessment and the other principles of assessment were not well developed. Knowledge of assessment methods was…

Thirty kindergarten children from two classrooms participated in a 3-week curricular unit on dinosaurs designed to teach taxonomic relations and distinguishing features aligned with 15 dinosaur species. Both domain-specific learning and strategic performance on a Twenty Questions game were assessed twice throughout the curriculum, as well as…

This article reports a case study describing how the principles of a cognitive apprenticeship (CA) model developed by Collins, Brown, and Holum (1991) were applied to a graduate course on performance systems analysis (PSA), and the differences this application made in student performance and evaluation of the course compared to the previous…

Performance assessment is an important task in all levels of education, both as input for identifying remedial needs of individual students and for improving general quality of education. Although explicit assessment measures can be obtained through objective standardized testing, it is much more difficult to capture fuzzier, or tacit, performance…

This study considered the problem of ineffective fieldwork experiences in the English Single Subject Credential Program at California State University, Long Beach prior to student teaching by combining structured fieldwork into a newly established state-mandated assessment, Teaching Performance Assessment Task 1 (TPA 1). This combination of a…

Course management software and on-line course material are becoming more available. As a result, many instructors have developed WebCT course Web sites to deliver on-line course material that supplements lecture topics. The present study examined associations between student characteristics, course performance, and access of Web-CT course…

The purpose of this article is to look at the experience of Bhutan in using examinations as a tool for assessing and systematically monitoring the health of the education system. The strategy in both school-based and nationwide examinations is three-fold: (1) monitoring of standards for the formally prescribed national curriculum across the…

There is broad consensus on the range of benefits accruing to the undergraduate from work placement, but to date there has been little published on its impact on academic achievement. This article describes changes that were introduced into the architecture of a placement programme for business undergraduates. A statistical investigation examines…

The study examined the differential contributions on vocabulary and alphabetic skills of three literacy programs: (a) storybook reading program; (b) alphabetic skills program; and (c) a combined program. It was expected that storybook reading would enhance primarily vocabulary while alphabetic skills training would promote primarily alphabetic…

The principal objective of this study was to gain insight into preservice elementary teachers understanding of the mean. Specifically, the research focused on identifying preservice teacher conceptions of the role and function of the mean as a statistical measure. Multiple data sources and data collection methods were utilized in an effort to…

The purpose of this study was to examine teachers' perceptions of alternate assessments. A total of 983 teachers from five states participated in this study. The results suggest that teachers tended to agree that their students should be included in school accountability, but they did not agree with most items assessing the educational benefits of…

This article examines the relationships between perceptions of authenticity and alignment on study approach and learning outcome. Senior students of a vocational training program performed an authentic assessment and filled in a questionnaire about the authenticity of various assessment characteristics and the alignment between the assessment and…

This study examined the effects of concept mapping on the science achievement of middle grade science students. The subjects were 182 eighth-grade students, distributed into eight intact earth science classes by ability levels. The ability level variable also was examined as a possible effect on student achievement. Two teachers were involved in…

Preservice elementary teachers in a conceptual physics course were given multiple resources to use during several inquiry activities in order to investigate how materials were chosen, used, and valued. These students performed significantly better on assessment items related to the inquiry physics activities than on items related to traditional…

At the request of the Hawaii Department of Education, Achieve conducted a study of Hawaii's 2005 grade 10 State Assessment in reading and mathematics. The study compared the content, rigor and passing (meets proficiency) scores on Hawaii's assessment with those of the six states that participated in Achieve's earlier study, "Do Graduation…