This study demonstrates that built environment education fits well into the existing curricula, meets objectives, and provides new directions for assessment in the classroom. The study examines what was happening in those classrooms using CUBE-produced curriculum materials. Sample assessment methods are provided for four differing educational…

The purpose of this practicum was to broaden and strengthen the classroom assessment of literacy development in a third grade. Goals were to implement authentic assessment techniques, to involve both students and parents in goal setting and ongoing evaluation processes, and to develop writing portfolios exhibiting a wide range of student…

Portfolio assessment is an effective means of evaluation that encompasses many products of the child. Portfolios can be used to form a total judgment of what is needed for the child's further growth, based on daily events of the classroom, without interrupting the class day. They also allow the teacher to know more about students, while developing…

Different viewpoints regarding educational testing are described. While some people advocate continuing reliance upon standardized tests, others favor the discontinuation of such achievement and intelligence tests. The author recommends a moderate view somewhere between these two extremes. Problems associated with standardized testing in the…

The PAAP Rubrics are designed for planning and implementation of the State's alternate assessment to the MEA, the PAAP. The PAAP has been designed to allow participation in the MEA for those students who require accommodations so significant that they would compromise the validity of the assessment (i.e., student would need accommodations that are…

This paper discusses recent developments in language testing. It begins with a review of the traditional criteria that are applied to all measurement and outlines recent emphases that derive from the expanding range of stakeholders. Drawing on Alderson's seminal work, criteria are presented for evaluating communicative language tests. Developments…

Setting unresolved technical issues aside, there are three other changes that are needed before e-learning realizes its fullest potential. First, the basic mental model of what e-learning is must be expanded. Second, the quality of assessment within e-learning products must be improved. Third, there must be rigorous evaluation of e-learning…

This paper summarizes a 4-month-long preparation process to implement an innovative English-as-a-Second-Language workplace program (ESLWP) at a large university with a sizable non-English speaking workforce in the United States. There is also a proposed plan of action for implementing a program guided by constructivist views of teaching and…

In an attempt to understand, holistically, how teachers make sense of their classrooms and how they use assessment to facilitate learning, this paper explores the use of a metaphor, "responsive choreography," to examine instruction in one classroom. "Responsive choreography" describes the subtle interplay or "dance" between the learner and the…

This brief identifies practices that include students with disabilities in large-scale assessments as required by the reauthorized and amended 1997 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. It notes relevant research by the National Center on Educational Outcomes and summarizes major findings of studies funded by the U.S. Office of Special…

This article provides an historical perspective on current interest in alternative assessment in the United States and identifies critical qualities that good assessment should exemplify. The paper then reviews research results regarding the technical quality and consequences of using this new form of assessment for large-scale accountability…

Parents and PTA members are actively involved at every level at the Applied Learning Academy in Fort Worth, Texas. This year-round public middle school is driven by applied learning. Parents are involved in school planning and design and actively participate in student assessments. (SM)

Alternative assessments reflect the kinds of learning activities that current cognitive and curriculum theories advocate. Assessment has a role in promoting new standards for student performance. To fill this role, assessment must be aligned with standards, be fair to all students, have accurate measures, and be useful, feasible, and credible. (SM)

Reports on Project 1 from the Evidence-based Practice in Science Education (EPSE) Research Network. In this project, a group of teachers develop banks of diagnostic questions in four science topic areas: electric circuits, force and motion, matter and chemical change, and biochemical life processes. (DDR)

This epilogue to a forum on literacy issues in school-age children from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds highlights research findings that address: the importance of home environment in influencing literacy; the relationship between socioeconomic status and literacy; and the use of dynamic assessment and process-dependent…