Examines the science achievement outcomes for different subgroups of students using different assessment formats designed to measure the level of achievement of the National Science Education Standards. Assessments included a multiple-choice test, a written open-ended test, a hands-on lab skills test, and a hands-on full investigation. (Author/SAH)

Reports on a study undertaken to develop research rubrics for a performance assessment of science processes and evaluate seventh-grade science students' ability to perform them. Focuses on the processes of recording data, analyzing data, drawing conclusions, and providing evidence. Reports that only 61% of the students performed the activity and…

Describes an elementary school teacher's implementation of authentic assessment strategies, in her science class. Discusses her use of different strategies including science logs, performance assessment, creative drama, scrapbooks, and interviews. Highlights factors that contributed to successful implementation of assessment strategies,…

Points to weaknesses of traditional tests and comments on the theoretical background and necessity of performance assessment. Presents specific information on performance assessment and provides assessment examples. (Author/VWL)

A British experiential and outdoor secondary curriculum has 12 modules that cover a wide range of subjects and develop skills in personal organization, literacy, numeracy, social interaction, and daily living. It is flexible and has been used with regular, special education, and limited-English-speaking students. Accreditation and benefits are…

Preparing future science teachers for U.S. city classrooms is an important yet poorly understood process. The purpose of this study was to determine the philosophies and practices of university-based science educators associated with programs supplying teachers for metropolitan school systems. Through an iterative process of mailed questionnaires,…

This paper considers alternative assessment, feedback and cybernetics. For more than 30 years, debates about the bi-polarity of formative and summative assessment have served as surrogates for discussions about the workings of the mind, the social implications of assessment and, as important, the role of instruction in the advancement of learning.…

States and districts are going to get more breathing room to meet the federal mandate that teachers be "highly qualified," but extending the deadline, teacher-quality advocates say, could ultimately bring more pressure on school officials to make progress. That's because the one-year reprieve dangled in late October 2005 by federal…

In this article, the authors describe an alignment and content analysis of the Wisconsin Alternate Assessment (WAA) for students with disabilities. The WAA is an assessment of the academic performance of students with significant disabilities and is an alternative to the traditional on-demand achievement test. Alternate assessments like the WAA…

For comparing nested covariance structure models, the standard procedure is the likelihood ratio test of the difference in fit, where the null hypothesis is that the models fit identically in the population. A procedure for determining statistical power of this test is presented where effect size is based on a specified difference in overall fit…

Observing children and reflecting on educational practices are integral to high-quality care and education programs. A sound assessment system can be a useful tool for guiding early childhood professionals in this process. This article describes three approaches to alternative assessment that: (1) can easily be integrated into and across everyday…

Alternatives to a solitary testing format can involve students working in teams to arrive at the correct answer. We compared two group assessment methods, cooperative and competitive, to a solitary testing approach. In most comparisons examining the undergraduate respondents' (N = 77) performance, the two group-testing methods were equivalent.…

This review presents an overview of selected articles on the leniency hypothesis: the idea that students give higher evaluations to instructors who grade more leniently. Such articles comprise a small subset of the voluminous research on student evaluations of teaching (SETs). In this diverse literature, research methods and aims have frequently…

Objectives: A national survey finds that 62% of social work programs do not require didactic and clinical supervision in any empirically supported psychotherapy (EST). The authors report the results of analysis of national survey data using two alternative classifications of EST to determine if the results are because of the definition of EST used…

Unclear definitions and limited system-level assessment measures inhibit cultural responsiveness in children's mental health. This study explores an alternative method to conceptualize and assess cultural competence in four children's mental health systems of care communities from family and professional perspectives. Concept Mapping was used to…