Assessment currently plays a critical role in American schools and society, in tasks ranging from ranking schools' effectiveness, to determining individual placement, to planning instruction. The purpose of the study was to gather data about the formal and informal assessment instruments and processes used by professionals in deaf education.…

Forty-two fourth- and fifth-grade teachers rated their 1,032 students in the five curricular subjects: reading, mathematics, language arts, science, and social science. The teachers' ratings substantially agreed with students' scores on the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills, indicating the concurrent validity of standardized achievement tests.…

An experimental design was employed to assess the impact of standardized tests on 47 second grade Irish teachers' judgments of their 1,566 students. Teachers receiving test results showed greater shifts in their ratings of students than teachers not receiving test results. However, these shifts tended to be in the positive direction and for only a…

Contends that the high probability of error in placement decisions based on high school records and standardized test scores delays the academic development of many students placed unnecessarily in mandatory skill development programs. Advocates skills assessment based on current classroom performance. (DMM)

A study explored the nature and quality of teacher-developed assessment instruments. Teachers (n=228) from a range of grades, subjects, and school districts described patterns of test use, concerns about assessment, and use of performance assessment by completing an extensive questionnaire. The research was conducted to determine: (1) teachers'…

The primary purpose of testing in early childhood is to identify children who may be at risk for learning problems so they may be placed in appropriate educational environments. Testing is popular because educators take at face value the claim by test developers that using standardized test instruments to classify, retain, or promote children is…

This guide intended for local school districts discusses the implementation of New Jersey's Special Review Assessment (SRA) process which provides high school students with the opportunity to demonstrate their mastery of basic skills by an assessment method other than the statewide graduation test. The process is required for eleventh graders who…

The validity of assumptions that portfolios complement other assessment methods and yield more reliable and valid data than do traditional methods was studied. More specifically, focus was on examining whether: achievement level (characterized by scores, ranks, and group membership) varies significantly with differing definitions and usage of…

This book is intended to help early childhood practitioners develop the essential understanding they require for appropriate use of assessment and evaluation information and to illuminate many of the issues involved in formal and informal assessment and evaluation. The chapters are: (1) "Assessment and Evaluation in the Early Childhood…

Evaluation and assessment procedures of Ontario, Canada principals and teachers at the Intermediate level (grades 7 and 8) were examined. Extensive questionnaires were returned by 134 principals and 225 teachers divided across the subject areas of English, Mathematics, Science, Languages, History, Home Economics or Shop, Arts, and Physical…