Assessment for learning, as opposed to assessment of learning, requires educators to make a major shift--from quality control in learning to quality assurance, from assessing at the end of teaching to assessing while learning is still taking place. Five nonnegotiable strategies define the territory of assessment for learning: clarifying and…

Proposes a method for evaluating courseware as an integral part of curriculum, based both on "curriculum commonplaces" (the curriculum content and all that surrounds it) and on educational values and beliefs; an evaluative matrix is offered, with the commonplaces arrayed along one axis, values and beliefs along the other. (MCG)

Primary purpose of evaluation is to cause educators to look at the process and the product of education and to utilize evaluation data as a corrective tool. (Authors)

Videotaping has become an accepted procedure for assessing teacher performance and providing feedback for self-analysis. Split-screen videotaping takes the process one step further. (Author)

This report focuses on research that provides evidence about the reliability, validity, and effects of various techniques of teacher evaluation. (Author)

Every student and educator needs a trusted person to ask provocative questions and offer helpful critiques. A critical friend understands the context of the work presented and the person or group's desired outcomes. Critical friendships begin through building trust; critical friends must listen well, offer value judgments on the learner's request,…

Despite their shortcomings, standardized tests provide numerical, intelligible data on how a child, school, or district is performing and vital information about patterns of strengths and weaknesses among students in a classroom, school, or district. A sensible compromise in the testing debate would be helpful. (MLH)

Describes how to use quizzes, tests, writing assignments, and other assessments to improve instruction and help students learn. Suggests that instead of teaching to the test, teachers test what they teach and follow assessments with corrective instruction. Also discusses the benefits of assessments. (Contains 14 references.) (WFA)

Research indicates that four-minute videotape segments may provide the best, most practical diagnostic tool available to supervisors in both preservice and inservice programs. (Author/MLF)

Educational programs should give priority to experiences on which other experiences depend, to experiences that promote critical thinking, and that enable students to choose experiences worth pursuing and resolve value conflicts. (Author/MLF)

The understanding of teachers as examples is missing from most attempts to evaluate effective teaching, yet teachers value this intangible aspect above all else. Those who are good examples are still learning how to teach, deal with people one at a time, and see value in the work of everyone. (CJH)

The "skills trace" is a textbook evaluation process by which an evaluator isolates one skill and reads every reference listed in the index of the teacher's manual. The evaluator then observes how that skill is introduced, taught, practiced, and tested throughout the grades. (Author/DCS)

A Colorado elementary school began its Total Quality Management work about a year ago after several staff members participated in an IBM Leadership Training Program addressing applications of Deming's theories. The school's new writing assessment has increased collegiality and cross-grade collaboration. (MLH)

Uses two direct writing assignments to show that performance assessment denotes the kind of student response to be examined, whereas authentic assessment denotes assessment context. Although not all performance assessments are authentic, it is difficult to imagine an authentic assessment that would not also be a performance assessment. Educators…

The importance of educational accountability and assessment literacy is recognized as a long-term challenge to the educational system. The complexities in becoming an assessment literate and provide an opportunity to the educators to display their effective learning is discussed.