A study was designed to assist elementary music teachers to create and/or improve methods of assessment for fifth-grade beginning band students. It was conducted from August to December 2002 and included 13 volunteer participants from a rapidly growing student population at an Illinois elementary school. As part of the research process, surveys,…

This report describes a program that used both critical and creative thinking skills to enhance the educational process in language arts. The targeted population consisted of fourth- and seventh-grade students in two growing, middle-class communities located in northern Illinois. The lack of higher-order thinking skills was documented through…

This report describes a project to develop more effective types of assessment in high school classes. The targeted population was high school students in two different middle-class communities in the northern suburbs of Chicago (Illinois). One site in a very stable, homogeneous community, predominantly white, contains 1,155 students. The other…