Performance based assessment refers to tasks that require students to construct responses or take actions to demonstrate specific knowledge or skills. Performance assessment tasks appear in a variety of formats, but they focus on higher order skills and are nonroutine, and sometimes loosely structured, in nature. A number of concerns have been…

This guide is intended to help school districts and individual schools design and implement outcomes-based accountability systems that include students with disabilities. Part 1 provides an overview of issues that must be considered in developing such a system. Part 2 suggests implementation options and strategies and likely implications of these…

Issues involved in the construction of alternative forms of assessment by mathematics teachers were studied through the case study of assessment development in three elementary schools. Three schools with 14 third-grade teachers were selected and matched with comparison schools. Data are presented about the mathematics part of the study, along…

This theme issue presents an overview of the standards movement, and examines some difficulties in implementing high standards in an equitable manner for all students. "Faster Than a Plymouth: Reflections on the 'Opportunity To Learn Standards'" (Bradley Scott) discusses the need to create similar experiences and opportunities for…

This selection of readings in the field of educational reform presents 46 articles, mostly from the news media, and 2 cartoons related to improvement of the educational system. It opens with "Network Notes," brief reports and reviews about events and recent publications of interest to those concerned with educational reform. The first…

This booklet is designed to help parents understand how Washington schools are raising their academic standards. It also points out questions parents should ask about their children's schools and describes some at-home activities that will help a child make the most of time in and out of the classroom. The educational improvement effort in…

Based on the findings of a 1998 conference on the new assessment and accountability requirements in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), this report discusses critical issues that surround the assessment provisions included in the 1997 IDEA amendments and contains recommendations related to state and district-wide assessments…

This report discusses the findings of a study that compared identified desirable characteristics of state accountability reports with 20 accountability reports generated by 7 states. Desirable characteristics included (1) clarity (the intended audience, statements of purpose, a description of the population being reported on and the states'…

Since 1990, a long-term study has been following the implementation of the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) in 21 schools in 4 rural school districts. This publication summarizes study findings through 1995. Findings across KERA strands suggest that reform would have been unlikely without KERA's extra funding, used to increase teacher…

This guide was developed to provide school district, area vocational-technical school, and postsecondary administrators in Pennsylvania with guidance for managing an accountability system for their vocational education programs. Although drafted primarily to assist agencies in meeting the intent of the Carl D. Perkins legislation, the model…

This paper clarifies the problems of meaning and translation into practice of concepts of "quality" in higher education by examining a quality improvement program at Griffith University (Queensland, Australia). The paper notes that Australian government agencies have advanced a quality assurance (QA) approach concerned with the…

Accountability is high on the education reform agenda as taxpayers, business leaders, and elected officials demand proof of results. Although several states show promising improvements in their accountability arrangements, none has in place a comprehensive system. Such a system includes three fundamental accountability elements: (1) clear and…

This report presents a plan for an Educational Assessment and Accountability System for Hawaii. The purpose of this plan is to provide an analytical as well as a descriptive account of the condition of public education in Hawaii. It is meant to be a vehicle to provide the means by which educational outcomes can be examined in light of contextual…

Findings of the National Commission on Testing and Public Policy concerning problems in testing are reported. Recommendations are proposed for restructuring educational and employment testing to help people develop their talents and become more productive, and to help institutions become more productive, accountable, and just. Over a 3-year…

An approach to integrating formative evaluation into externally-mandated program reviews in higher education is suggested. Externally-mandated reviews are generally concerned with the summative evaluation of academic programs. The first step is to classify the mandated program review criteria using a two-dimensional model. This model is based on a…