In this technical report, we describe the development and piloting of a series of mathematics progress monitoring measures intended for use with students in kindergarten. These measures, available as part of easyCBM[TM], an online progress monitoring assessment system, were developed in 2008 and administered to approximately 2800 students from…

We are delighted to welcome you to the International Conference on Education and New Developments 2013, taking place in Lisbon, Portugal, from 1 to 3 of June. Education, in a global sense, is a right since we are born. Every experience has a formative effect on the constitution of the human being, in the way one thinks, feels and acts. One of the…

This brief report summarizes how American education has drifted into the accountability systems now in use, either under individual state laws or as mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. The report describes how slip-sliding into the current accountability requirements has resulted in a system so flawed that it fails in its…

This article guides the reader through the actual, step-by-step process of preparing the web-based NASPE/NCATE program report. The following five sections are discussed in detail: (1) contextual information; (2) assessments and related data; (3) standards assessment chart; (4) evidence for meeting standards; and (5) use of assessment results to…

To provide a deeper understanding of issues related to collaborative reconstruction and simultaneous renewal, the author provides a historical perspective of professional development schools (PDSs) and an overview of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education PDS standards and assessment process, with a focus on inquiry and…

Best practice research in secondary science education begins with a noble goal: learn from the excellence of past instruction in order to help mold future instructional practice. On the surface, it seems that all people need to do is find excellent science teachers, find out what they do in the classroom, and recreate this in other classes around…

This article briefly reviews the central ideas associated with the notion of systemic reform and indicates how these ideas are manifested in the draft of the National Science Education Standards. The draft is critiqued and what the critique suggests about the viability and utility of the notion of systemic reform is considered. The discussion…

As far as students are concerned, the real tyrrany exercised by the university is in the classroom where grades may decide a student's fate. The grading system has, therefore, become a major target of radical students and faculty. Significant changes in the grading system will probably not be made until provisions are made for the maintenance of…

Intended to promote a more realistic basis for determining what standards first-year shorthand students should represent, this article discusses seven methods by which dictation rates may be easily "inflated." The author also offers four position statements to encourage a greater exchange of ideas and discussion among shorthand instructors…

Due to grade inflation, transcripts reveal little more than courses a student has completed. Recommendation letters have become an important criterion in teacher candidate selection. Suggestions for writing a subjective recommendation are offered. (DF)

This Knowledge Brief argues for the value of creating a district accountability system that complements the state?s federally prescribed effort. It also identifies essential decisions that must be made in developing a local system and includes or points to resources that can help inform and guide the process. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requires…

Discusses the procedure or process whereby the teacher, the department chairman, the supervisor and other staff members define their objectives and duties in measurable terms; set forth procedures and activities for reaching their objectives; and measure pupil attainment of the stated objectives. (RB)

Presents instruments for measuring pedagogy and subject matter content, noting they are essential within experimental design and large-scale national accountability and suggesting that surveys of enacted curriculum can be used to: validly and reliably measure pedagogy and content; make comparisons across classes, schools, districts, and states;…

In this article, I draw several lessons learned about how to assess student, classroom, and teacher effects, with a specific focus on performance-based teacher evaluations. One lesson is that hierarchical linear modeling techniques are helpful in sorting out the magnitude of impacts at these three different levels of the education system. The…

Assessment, it seems, is everywhere in higher education these days, as institutions develop assessment plans and accrediting bodies require evidence that students are meeting appropriate educational goals. Defining student learning as the central activity of higher education is not, in itself, controversial. Indeed, the assessment movement…