This play continues a dramatization used in the NCTM videotape Mathematics Assessment: Alternative Approaches. Issues and methods of assessment are discussed from the points of view of the teacher, students, principal, and parents. Methods include portfolios, informal interviews, group projects, and open-ended questioning. (MKR)

Discusses assessment in education, examining how the current desire to assess outcomes of significance can be incorporated into an outcomes assessment system. Assessment characteristics and how assessment fits into an outcome-based educational system are explored. (SM)

In the context of a project implementing Belgian observation and assessment scales in German kindergartens, a study examined German practitioners' attitudes toward systematic observation of children. The most significant overall finding was the low priority attributed to systematic observation in teacher training and practice. These findings are…

This article introduces a framework to summarize areas of social cognition that affect the ability of students with Asperger syndrome to relate to others. A five-step approach to assessment is reviewed to provide information regarding the nature of students' social cognition and related skills. Informal assessment tools are then described.…

This article addresses translating phonological awareness research for classroom reading instruction. It presents a practical overview of phonological awareness development and its relationship to beginning reading. Formal and informal assessment methods of children's phonological awareness are presented, and strategies are described for…

This article discusses the evolving need for identification of gifted and talented students in Hong Kong, assessment of intelligence, identifying the academically gifted, identifying the creatively gifted, and identification by informal measures. The use of multiple measures for identification used at the Chinese University of Hong Kong is…

This book is designed to help adult educators become skillful in conducting an informal assessment of learning. Chapter 1 gives a background in the basic concepts of assessment and stresses the importance of assessing the design of activities and the behaviors as well as the achievements of learners. Chapter 2 introduces the use of the planning…

The kinds of questions administrators, teachers, parents, the community, and children ask from under each of their hats makes educators and others aware of the information needs that people have for judging the success of schooling. Each audience, each role, asks slightly different questions, and the information needed to answer those questions is…

This annotated bibliography represents Test Center holdings to date in the area of assessment alternatives in mathematics and science. Alternative assessment, for the purpose of this bibliography, means assessment other than standardized, norm-referenced assessment. The list emphasizes examples of assessment, such as performance assessments,…

This study compared teacher-rated classroom ability groupings with total reading scores reported on standardized tests. Kindergarten teachers divided their students into three groups according to how well they had mastered a set of criteria which the teachers felt represented the successful reader and writer at the end of kindergarten. Results…

This practicum was designed to provide an assessment instrument that would serve as an alternative method of documenting the progress of kindergarten students. The portfolio approach to assessment of student progress was implemented in a kindergarten class and applied as an ongoing process. During a 12-week period, teacher and student selected…

The Austin Independent School District Office of Research and Evaluation (AISD-ORE) has recently completed a three year study of the effects of retention on elementary students. As in other studies comparing the academic achievement of elementary retainees and similar students not retained, findings indicated that promoted students generally show…

Described is the development and evaluation of a module for teaching special education teacher trainees to determine a pupil's instructional reading level through the use of an informal reading inventory (IRI). Among the topics covered in Part I on developing the instructional module are needs assessment, a review of relevant literature, review…

Presented is a guide designed to provide information on 27 perceptual-motor and psychomotor tests and scales for use with handicapped children so that valid and informed decisions can be made in selecting test instruments for prescriptive and diagnostic purposes. The guide is comprised of one section on motor ability, perceptual-motor development,…

A challenge in online collaborative learning teams is assuring that all members of the virtual learning team are actively engaged and contributing to the work of the team. One strategy to hold individual members of a learning team accountable for their contributions is through the use of peer and self evaluations. This paper provides a summary of…