This study focuses on teachers' use of informal formative assessments (IFAs) aimed at improving students' learning and teachers' recognition of students' learning processes. The study was designed as an explorative case study of four middle school teachers and their students at a charter school in the northeastern U.S.A. The data collected for the…

This study investigated the Individual Learning Plans of eighty-eight students who were deaf and hard of hearing attending facilities and schools for the deaf in Victoria Australia. The students' assessment and planning portfolios were scrutinised for evidence of formal and informal assessment used to generate goals for the Individual Learning…

Many strategies contribute to forming co-constructed relationships. However, one of the most effective tools that supports co-construction is ongoing assessment, which provides a common base (knowledge of the child) on which families and professionals can build relationships. As a part of this ongoing assessment, informal strategies--including…

"Classroom Assessment in Action" clarifies the multi-faceted roles of measurement and assessment and their applications in a classroom setting. Comprehensive in scope, Shermis and Di Vesta explain basic measurement concepts and show students how to interpret the results of standardized tests. From these basic concepts, the authors then…

Reviewed are such techniques as classroom observation, using criteria for success in educational prescriptions, and plotting daily performance for evaluating the severely disturbed child. Included are such materials as a sample diagnostic test schedule, a paper on observation procedures, and graphs for recording behavior. (SBH)

Discusses the growing use by educational psychologists and teachers of developmental and academic behavior checklists. Identifies the minimum criteria necessary for checklists and criticizes their use as many fail to meet these standards. Describes the limitations, misuse, and narrow focus of behavior checklists. (GEA)

The Service Delivery Assessment (SDA) model is a human services evaluation tool which offers a viable alternative to more traditional approaches and is appropriate for small local evaluations as well as large national studies. There are five phases to an SDA study: assignment, pre-assessment, design, analysis, and communication of the findings.…

Argues that there are many sources of information about schools other than standardized tests and questionnaires, and stresses the value of careful, unobtrusive observations that are well focused and intelligently interpreted. Lists numerous unobtrusive criteria for possible use in evaluating students, school programs, and school personnel. (JG)

Performance assessment (observational assessment) can be an effective alternative to traditional paper and pencil tests when measuring academic achievement. Benefits of performance tests include: (1) testing knowledge synthesis rather than just knowlege acquisition; (2) allowing for diagnosis of individual needs and an immediate adjustment of…

A responsive educational evaluation is oriented more to program activities than to program intents, and stresses learning about the needs of the evaluation's audience, so that these value perspectives can be noted in reporting the successes and failures of the program. Most evaluation plans are more preordinate, emphasizing: (1) statements of…

This study investigated the importance and meaning of the role of observation in teachers' assessment of student achievement. Seven questions were used as a guide by the researchers: 1) What do teachers mean when they rate observation as their most important source of information for assessing student achievement? 2) What role do teachers'…

The importance of systematic assessment of target behavior in the development of an assessment strategy for children is the cornerstone by which many parent-mediated interventions are conducted. To determine current practices of parent/child assessment and evaluation of treatment, directors of 112 community mental health clinics were surveyed.…