Proposes that decisions about the type, frequency, and content of assessment are of key importance in long-range planning, short-range planning, and daily classroom instruction. (MKR)

Describes four inventories in summary form to allow the reader to identify the ones that might best suit the assessment purposes and needs. (MG)

Offers an overview of the steps taken by Orange County Public Schools in Florida to move to a portfolio approach to literacy assessment. (MG)

This operations notebook is designed to assist elementary (and/or secondary) school principals in planning their school schedule, month by month, based on six major areas of administrative competency: (1) instructional leadership, (2) management, (3) human relations, (4) leadership, (5) political and cultural awareness, and (6) self-awareness. The…

Describes an informal assessment procedure that uses think alouds (readers' verbal self-reports about their thinking processes) to obtain information about how they attempt to construct meaning from text. (MG)

Noting that ratios can be used to great advantage in scoring informal reading tests, such as the cloze procedure and the informal reading inventory, this paper explains the procedures for calculating cross-ratios and percentages when computing scores for informal reading assessments. Examples are provided for using ratios to determine scores for…

An approach for systematically observing and recording behavioral difference in the classroom is described, and its use with 11 behavior problem elementary students is discussed. The author points out the importance of peer sampling and the use of multiple observations to avoid erroneous conclusions. A case study of a second grade child…

Teachers need to help students determine which items in the students' portfolios should be saved for the following year. If the portfolio moves with the child to the next teacher, it is important to preserve items that show educational growth and progress. Teachers can also keep their own records using progress report forms. (MDM)

This document discusses basic knowledge about the reading process, in order to help school psychologists make effective recommendations for educational programming. The paper begins by identifying and describing three models of the reading process, a traditional "bottom-up" model, a more emergent "top-down" view, and an interactive model which…

Discusses the "Biographic Literacy Profiles Project," a seminar for teachers and administrators which focused on developing an alternative to current assessment methods in elementary language arts. Shows how the process of changing assessment patterns can reflect the same integrative, holistic goals that teachers have for working with…

Answers parents' most common questions about alternative assessment. Discusses: why there is a need for change in the way students are evaluated; what alternative assessment is; how parents can recognize the components of an alternative assessment; when alternative assessment occurs; and how alternative assessment contributes to children's…

This facilitator's guide, and the videotape it accompanies, is designed to demonstrate ways in which the new visions of science education for the 21st century might be translated into classroom practice. The National Research Council's (NRC) National Science Education Standards, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Benchmarks…

This handbook offers practical suggestions on how parents can be better teachers at home and help their children learn better at school. Ways in which parents can work with the schools to insure the best possible education for children are discussed. The first of five sections deal with parents' rights and responsibilities in relationship to their…

Intended for non-experts in evaluative techniques, this monograph presents suggestions and examples for assessing: (1) the child; (2) the classroom; and (3) the program or the school. Illustrative techniques of recordkeeping are presented. Methods of collecting data include documentation and formal records. Techniques to be used during evaluation…

The manual is designed to provide teachers of hearing impaired students with a criterion referenced record of the student's existing skills. The record is intended to progress with the child through the elementary grades and to be used for developing individual profiles and plans. The manual consists of forms with columns for recording the…