The authors describe the process used to revise a traditional doctoral student evaluation system from one that consisted of written comprehensive and final oral examinations to one that features portfolio development. Student competence, expected student outcomes in each competency area, procedures for portfolio development, and documents and…

This paper discusses experience with alternative assessment strategies for an introductory course in dynamical systems, where the use of computer algebra and calculus is fully integrated into the learning process, so that the standard written examination would not be appropriate. Instead, students' competence was assessed by grading three large…

Given issues related to differences in learner characteristics, effective sampling across the content domain, and recent emphases on assessing meaningfully contextualised abilities and higher-order cognitive processes, the "traditional" mathematics test arguably does not provide a valid measure of student ability. Consequently, there is…

In traditional factor analysis, the variance-covariance matrix or the correlation matrix has often been a form of inputting data. In contrast, in Bayesian factor analysis, the entire data set is typically required to compute the posterior estimates, such as Bayes factor loadings and Bayes unique variances. We propose a simple method for computing…

Assessing participant learning in online environments provides benefits and challenges. Fortunately, the available technology tools allow for a wide range of assessment techniques. Based on the purpose and scope of the assessment and the nature of the material being assessed, educators can choose from the following online assessment techniques:…

The purpose of this year-long, collective case study was to investigate what influences contributed to alternate assessment outcomes for students with significant disabilities. This study of seven students and teachers in two school districts revealed seven main factors that contributed to students' scores on the state's alternate assessment,…

One of a series of educational packages designed for implementation either in a workshop atmosphere or through individual study, this Hot Topic guide presents a variety of materials designed to assist educators in designing and implementing classroom projects and activities centering on the topic of standardized and alternative assessment. The Hot…

This publication identifies and examines existing assessment instruments in oral communication for K-12 and higher education, and abstracts and describes assessment instruments and systematically reports their availability and interest to scholars, teachers, and administrators. It also provides background research needed to develop oral…

This 138-item annotated bibliography of books, journal articles, papers, and computer disks represents the reading assessment portion of the Test Center lending library. Listed alphabetically by author, materials in the bibliography were published between 1984 and 1996. An index using a set of descriptors developed for this material is attached.…

Thirty-three primary teachers were trained in the 1989 Standards for School Mathematics to study the relationship between the implementation of alternative assessment and such variables as: teacher grading orientation, class size, grade level, and student mathematical ability. Teachers were found to use knowledge level items significantly more…

This digest discusses some of the practical implications of using alternative methods of assessing students in foreign or second language classrooms. First, assessment and testing are contrasted, and assessment is defined as an ongoing strategy through which student learning is not only monitored, but by which students are involved in making…

Noting that issues of assessing and evaluating learning and teaching have become a dominant concern in recent years, this book describes the journey of a group of classroom teachers, administrators, and researchers as they addressed the issues of evaluation and assessment. The book details the results of a collaborative project undertaken in…

Secondary teacher education students should be given clear instruction in the assembling and assessment of professional teaching portfolios. In the teacher education program at the University of Louisville (Kentucky), student teachers are asked to prepare portfolios, exactly as all secondary students must in the state of Kentucky, meaning that the…

One way to help teachers know how to give better assistance to students is to have students analyze their papers in a letter or memo attached to their essays. In one class, such memos are called "Learning from your own writing process," and typically describe: (1) what the student was trying to do; (2) what seemed to work or not work in…

A study investigated a holistic approach to the assessment of students' writing skills in a high school that is part of a residential treatment program for adolescents. High school students were asked to produce spontaneous writing samples in the fall and spring of the 1990-91 school year. The students were asked to write about someone they…