Not since the development of the objective paper and pencil test early in the century has an assessment method hit the American educational scene with such force as has performance assessment methodology in the 1990s. Performance assessment relies on teacher observation and professional judgment to draw inferences about student achievement.…

The concept of "opportunity to learn" (OTL) strategies was first introduced several decades ago and was defined by a narrow set of instructional components. Since then, many additional criteria have been incorporated into the OTL concept, some specifically to ensure an equal education for disadvantaged and minority students. The original…

This digest summarizes a longer document with the same title that discusses the problem of using, training, and assessing international teaching assistants (ITAs) in undergraduate education. Legislative mandates have appeared to assess and improve language and pedagogical skills of ITAs, and academies have likewise responded with workshops and…

Educational indicator systems are similar to indicator systems used to monitor the economy, the criminal justice system, or other social systems. Governments recognize the value of statistics that provide current information and make trend analysis and forecasts possible. Education statistics will qualify as indicators only if they serve as…

Multicultural perspectives on assessment challenge traditional perspectives by advancing an additional source of variation in test responses that is presumed to escape test developers and test users. Increasing and convergent evidence from multiple sources indicates the following types of ethnocentric errors in test development, administration,…

More valid assessments for multicultural populations would help counseling professionals better serve their clients and improve the lives of many people whose backgrounds and experiences may differ from those of White clients. Four common misuses of multicultural contexts are: (1) assuming that labeling something solves the problem; (2) using…

Learners of all ages need to expand their self-knowledge and determine the ways their interests and abilities are applicable in the changing social, economic, and work environments. Many of the new ways of teaching and learning offer processes by which students can gain experiences that enhance their self-knowledge. These varied learning processes…

This digest provides a review of the research literature on assessment of the effectiveness of higher education in producing graduates with the knowledge and skills necessary for well-educated citizens today. Major findings are grouped as answers or partial answers to the following nine questions: (1) "what are the critical competencies and…

The typical route to certification for beginning foreign language teachers requires the candidate to complete an approved program of teacher education in a four-year institution, have a certain minimum grade point average, and have completed a specified number of foreign language credit hours. Notable trends in foreign language teacher…

This digest is intended to help teachers select good resources to use in their instruction by providing a checklist to evaluate online educational materials. The following major topic areas to consider when evaluating World Wide Web-based materials for use in instructional settings, as well as sub-questions in each area, are outlined: (1) Judge…

This digest focuses on going beyond multiple choice testing to the development of methods for assessing complex knowledge and performances. Newly designed assessment systems must accurately measure and promote the complex thinking and learning goals that are known to be critical to students' academic success and their eventual sustained…