Teachers committed to inclusive education have the potential to revolutionise pedagogical and assessment practices within regular classrooms simply because students with high needs challenge traditional assumptions about what it means "to learn" and "to assess". This creates opportunities for teachers to find creative ways to…

Criterion-referenced measures, such as those used in the assessment of crime and violence, prioritize predictive accuracy (discrimination) at the expense of construct validity. In this article, we compared the discrimination and incremental validity of three commonly used criterion-referenced measures for sex offenders (Rapid Risk Assessment for…

This report has a simple aim: to present results from international assessments so readers can judge for themselves how American students stack up globally. It's intended to be a stand-alone supplement to the "Education Olympics" web event held between August 8th and August 22nd, 2008 (see edolympics.net). It shows how the U.S. has…

When the New Zealand Qualifications Authority began designing the National Qualifications Framework, it was discovered that the modular studies program in Tikipunga High School was a model of the type of preparation needed to implement the framework. Characteristics of the Tikipunga modular studies program are as follows: (1) a 6-week semester for…

Standards-based assessment, or at least the concept of standards-based assessment, will provide a key strategy for the implementation of the New Zealand National Qualifications Framework. This paper considers the meaning of standards-based assessment and its role in New Zealand's assessment for nationally recognized qualifications. Standards-based…

This package contains articles in three general areas: items covering measurement topics; brief and practical guides on measurement techniques; and professional reading on broader assessment issues. The purpose of these publications by "Set" is to provide research information to teachers. The initial article, "Overview of Issues in…

The New Zealand Qualifications Authority was established to develop a consistent approach to the recognition of academic and vocational qualifications. The National Qualifications Framework was designed following surveys of a number of sectors: universities, colleges of education, polytechnics, private training firms, schools, businesses, unions,…

Standards-based assessment is the student evaluation method favored by the National Qualifications Framework developed by the New Zealand National Qualifications Authority. Before determining an assessment method, definitions of key terms and concepts such as assessment, validity, and reliability must be determined. Good assessments are developed…

This document is intended to generate discussion about the plans of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority for developing a National Qualifications Framework. The document begins with an explanation of the qualifications framework in Maori and in English. A guide to reading the document points out its organization and the inclusion of diagrams…

This document consists of three separately-published booklets all concerned with criteria for accreditation of educational institutions in New Zealand: (1) "Guidelines and Criteria for Registration of Private Training Establishments"; (2) "Guidelines and Criteria for Obtaining Ministerial Approval of Government Training…