One of the toughest hurdles to overcome in construction education is the varying levels of construction field experience among undergraduate students. Although an internship is a common construction management requirement, it is often completed after students complete classes in planning and scheduling. This poses a challenge for the modern…

The standards-based reform movement has resulted in the wide-spread use of summative assessments designed to measure students' performance at specific points in time. While many have hoped that these end-of-year tests would provide constructional useful information for educators, they do not. This is not because there is something…

In an attempt to ensure students had a positive experience in their first semester, and to encourage future effective use of tutors' feedback comments, a post-1992 university used a module in the school of education to develop an innovative feedback process. The process involved four stages: a first submission of written work, written feedback on…

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation and public pressure to prepare students for the twenty-first century has put increasing demands on schools to improve student performance. This action research study examined the efforts of an elementary school principal and her third and fourth grade teachers to improve students' performance in math. The…

Each year, Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) informs policymakers and practitioners of what children know and are able to do when they start formal education in kindergarten. This report provides a profile of children's skill levels as they enter school based on the evaluation of their teachers. It includes valuable trend data about…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a mathematics enrichment activity used to improve the mathematics performance of students relative to participation in the State Agricultural Mechanics Career Development Event (CDE) and in mandated assessments. The treatment group (13 schools, 43 students) participated in a…

This study explores the efforts at Brigham Young University to improve preservice candidates' technology integration using the Teacher Work Sample (TWS) as an assessment tool. Baseline data that was analyzed from 95 TWSs indicated that students were predominantly using technology for productivity and information presentation purposes even though…

The Department of Accounting at California State University Northridge (CSUN) has developed a unique sequence of courses designed to ensure that accounting students are trained not only in technical accounting, but also acquire critical thinking, research and communication skills. The courses have proven effective and have embedded assessment…

What teaching strategies must teachers of reading be able to perform and how are these strategies applied effectively in teaching children to read? This article attempts to answer these two important questions. One key element of a successful reading program focuses on the teacher. A brief review of the teacher effectiveness literature, including…

With decreasing enrollment, decreasing funding for public school education, changes in family and societal needs, and the mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act, policymakers and school leaders are wrestling with reforms to the school calendar and instructional time spent in the classroom, with the goal of increasing student achievement.…

Each year, the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) informs policymakers and practitioners of what children know and are able to do when they start formal education in kindergarten. This report, which is unique in its kind nationally, provides a profile of children's skill levels as they enter school based on the evaluation of their…

This document provides guidance for establishing a tiered instructional approach to support the achievement of all students in Maryland public school, particularly those not demonstrating mastery of grade level content. The framework includes student screening, identification of specific learning needs, provision of appropriate instruction aligned…

Research on using a dictaphone for evaluation of student papers was carried out to test the technique's thoroughness, effectiveness, and capability for individualized instruction. Two classes, one an experimental and one a control group, from each of grades 9, 10, 11, and 12 were used, and each student wrote nine papers. The papers of the control…

The author argues for experience-based accountability. Accountability at any level, first grade or college, should be based on establishing suitable experiences compatible with proper objectives for a subject. (MM)

Students receiving competency/evaluation profiles of their examination results, rather than the traditional summative grades or marks, obtained a significantly higher level of cognitive achievement. Their attitudes toward the assessment process were also more favorable. (LRA)