The history of ENQA (European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education) arises in the late 1990s when the first formal procedures for quality assurance begun to stabilize on a national level. As a result of the European Pilot Projects in the field of external quality assurance during the nineties, participants felt the need for…

For lower-achieving students with disabilities, effective and appropriate alternate assessment based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS) can open the door to greater expectations and opportunities. State policymakers have the option of providing certain students who have disabilities with AA-MAS aligned with grade-level content--and now…

This book offers an ambitious new system for evaluating, compensating, and providing professional development for school teachers and administrators. In this realigned system, new forms of accountability are introduced, but they go hand in hand with new rewards and access to enhanced forms of professional development to help educators succeed in…

To ensure the best possible outcomes for young children with and without disabilities, early childhood educators must enter the classroom ready to conduct all types of early childhood assessment--including determining if children need additional services, planning and monitoring instruction, and determining program effectiveness. They'll get the…

The importance of student assessment, particularly for summative purposes, has increased greatly over the past thirty years. At the same time, emphasis on including all students in assessment programs has also increased. Assessment programs, whether they are large-scale, district-based, or teacher developed, have traditionally attempted to assess…

This book presents essential learning approaches. It introduces educational and training activities, as well as various innovative methods aiming at the development of practical skills, in order to strengthen the continuous process of environmental education, and in particular the education for sustainable development (ESD). In doing so, it…

Written by expert teachers and researchers, "Best Practices for the Inclusive Classroom: Scientifically Based Strategies for Success" looks at field-tested strategies that teachers of inclusive classrooms need to implement to successfully teach all of the learners in their classroom. The purpose of the book is to provide both general and special…

School success in the 21st century requires proficiency with expository discourse--the use and understanding of informative language in spoken and written modalities. This occurs, for example, when high school students read their textbooks and listen to their teachers' lectures, and later are asked to demonstrate their knowledge of this complex…

Discusses the effects of full-day kindergarten as producing academically stronger students who are better able to compete with the "norm." (SLD)

What is the role of Citizenship? How can it be taught effectively? The fully updated second edition of "Learning to Teach Citizenship in the Secondary School" is an essential text for students training to teach Citizenship as a first or second subject, as well as experienced teachers who have opted to take responsibility for this vital…

"Research on Schools, Neighborhoods, and Communities: Toward Civic Responsibility" focuses on research and theoretical developments related to the role of geography in education, human development, and health. William F. Tate IV, the Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in…

This research project addresses the validity of assessments used to measure the performance of English language learners (ELLs), such as those mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB, 2002). The goals of the research are to help educators understand and improve ELL performance by investigating the validity of their current…

Papers in this collection address issues related to participatory approaches to assessing impact. The first section, "What Is an Impact Study and How Should We Do It?" contains: (1) "Participatory Impact Assessment" (John Shotton); (2) "Participatory Action Research as an Approach to Impact Assessment" (Victoria…

Discusses the attributes of a successful assessment program as part of the process proceeding from assessment to accountability and finally to accreditation. (SLD)

Discusses testing the communication competencies of college students and recommends the use of the Cognitive Test for College Level Communication Competencies Assessment. (SLD)