California has provided other states with an example of how not to assess student writing and has initiated a new direction in the statewide assessment of student writing achievement, a direction designed to influence writing instruction positively. Before 1987, the California Assessment Program (CAP) limited English skills assessment to multiple…

Using the Internet to administer homework allows us to determine if students change their homework habits during a semester and if this change results in an improvement in grades.

The purpose of this article is to deal with the following issues as they relate to educational grading policy: (1) to examine the use and misuse of grades in education; (2) to explore the use of performance based grading versus traditional grading and compare institutions using traditional grading versus those using performance based or…

The author reviews various current approaches to evaluating pupil achievement, evaluating instruction, and using grades, grade point averages, and class rank. Such issues as the philosophical and psychological bases for selection and use of evaluation instruments, the use of performance objectives, ways to reduce subjectivity in grading, the use…

Developed and edited by the National Association of College and University Business Officers' (NACUBO's) Accounting Principles Council, this guidebook, written by highly experienced, seasoned college and university leaders, is designed to help readers make sense of today's world and provide the right tools to make the right decisions. The book,…

Recent language testing research investigates factors other than language proficiency that may be responsible for systematic variance in language test performance. One such factor is the test takers' cognitive styles. The present study was carried out with the aim of finding the probable effects of Iranian EFL learners' cognitive styles on their…

The research effort reported in this document addresses the important national need for determining the validity of large-scale content assessments in English with students who are in the process of acquiring English as a second language. Often these students have been excluded from such assessments, but there have been recent, growing efforts to…

In the mid 1990s, the Ontario Government decided to enhance the accountability of the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology by measuring and rewarding their performance in meeting specific goals and outcomes. The KPI Satisfaction Survey is a tool developed by the Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities in conjunction with the colleges to…

The Adult Education and Family Literacy Act requires states to report learners' educational gains in terms of level descriptors defined by the National Reporting System (NRS). States may choose their assessment methods. Most use standardized testing. NRS level descriptors for English as a Second Language (ESL) define English language proficiency…

A quantitative and qualitative study examined three leadership strategies found in performance-based management (human resource, scientific management and political strategies used in public sector management); a framework by which performance measurement (PM) supports leadership strategies; and how the strategies impact PM. It examined leadership…

NCATE (2002) requires the measurement of knowledge, skills, and dispositions as part of its accreditation requirements for teacher education programs (Standard 1) and the use of unit assessment systems to aggregate and analyse data with a view toward program improvement (Standard 2). Data must indicate that candidates meet professional, state, and…

This report reviews the benchmarking practices that are presently being used at community colleges. It introduces the concept of a "culture of inquiry" as a means for judging their potential value. It classifies benchmarking efforts among three types--performance, diagnostic, and process--and characterizes each by its typical use. The…

Since its introduction in 1983, Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences has attracted widespread interest among educators. The chapters in this book describe alternative assessments that capture the range of intelligences, allow the intelligences to be given more equal weight, use intelligence-fair formats, and focus on student…

The National Consortium on Inclusive Schooling Practices (1996) developed a framework to analyze state and local policies and their effects on school inclusion. The framework focuses on standards-based systemic reform across six major policy areas: curriculum, student assessment, accountability, personnel development and professional training,…

This document is part of a series of guides for teachers in which the Division of Bilingual Education of the New York City Board of Education presents a learner-centered model in which the learner sees himself or herself in the story. Learners are able to relive their own experiences or those of their parents or grandparents as they left their own…