Recognizing that textbook adoption procedures and evaluation criteria vary from state to state or district to district, the authors present some general guidelines on screening and evaluation that should prove helpful to any elementary textbook adoption committee. (Author/SJL)

Authentic assessment encompasses methods of evaluating what students know and can do, acknowledging that children learn best when they are actively involved and receive feedback. Criteria for judging authentic assessments include determining their consequences and noting whether they are cost-effective, meaningful, fair, and generalizable, with…

Presents six strategies to help teachers make the most of student portfolios. The suggestions include defining the portfolio's purpose, teaching students self-reflection, structuring portfolio reviews, making time for peer evaluation, regularly sharing portfolios with parents, and allowing time to learn to use portfolios. Includes a reproducible…

Explains why portfolios are as important for teachers as they are for students, describing the anatomy of a thorough teacher portfolio. Four teachers share the contents of their portfolios and reasons portfolios are important to them. A reproducible sheet for students, "My Thoughts about This Year," is included. (SM)

Offers a strategic activity to help teachers learn to use portfolios for evaluating students' work. Step-by-step information is provided in diagram form. Steps include beginning the portfolios, defining the purpose, selecting contents, discussing self-reflection, reviewing portfolios, evaluation by peers, and portfolio send-home. (SM)

The article describes a student peer-evaluation activity in writing which not only saves the teacher's grading time and energy but also increases students' creativity and style while they learn to edit their work. (CB)

Teachers' attitudes and nonverbal messages about standardized testing can affect students' test scores. This article presents a four-question test to help teachers determine their attitudes toward standardized testing, then offers suggestions on how to get rid of excess baggage before approaching the tests and explains the importance of…

Students became much more interested in nutrition after a class project of evaluating and investigating the foods they ate. (GB)

Elementary school students need to work independently during writing time and monitor and assess their own progress. This paper describes self-designed rubrics, which teachers create with the help of their students. A class activity sheet explains how to create writing rubrics based on needs and goals that students identify. (SM)

Presents an assessment rubric that allows teachers to consistently assess children's work over time. The rubric focuses on 3 features of writing (surface features, inner layers, and creativity), within which are 18 specific competencies. The article describes how to use the rubric to assess creative writing. (SM)

Presents workable strategies for observing, tracking, and reporting student progress in the elementary writing classroom. The article offers tips and techniques for ongoing evaluation (observing writers as they write, conferencing, and student self-evaluation). It also includes a teacher-guided tour of a real Vermont student's writing portfolio.…

A children's art project lets students create artistic portfolios in a Jackson Pollock style. The activity takes 60 minutes and requires posterboard, adhesive tape, spray paint, tempera paints, eyedroppers, newspapers, colored markers, and stencil letters. By inviting students to make their own portfolios, teachers are cultivating students'…

Six strategies for assessing young students' writing and tracking their progress include conducting a survey regarding students' thoughts on writing, focusing anecdotal notes on students' writing, meeting for quick conferences, fixing students' work to celebrate growth, sharing rubrics with students, and keeping notebooks and portfolios. (SM)

Ten suggestions to help students increase standardized test scores include: read directions carefully; peek at the questions before reading stories or articles; note key words; use parts of questions to help plan answers; look back at the text; think before writing; write clearly and legibly; pay attention to how the test is scored; manage time…

Should you have an artist in residence in your school? Yes! Here's how you go about it, what a visiting artist does, and why he is so valuable to you and your kids. (Editor)