Portfolio assessment can be a valuable tool in assessing professional proficiency in teachers if appropriate attention is given to issues of reliability and validity. The Teaching Assessment Project at Stanford University has explored portfolios as an alternative to traditional methods of teacher evaluation. (IAH)

Reports on a survey of experienced teachers to assess their knowledge of the structure of spoken and written language. Results reveal pervasive conceptual weaknesses in the very skills needed for direct, language-focused reading instruction. The importance of specific linguistic knowledge for instruction is illustrated, and policy changes for…

This study examined awareness of equivalence and relational thinking exhibited by 30 preservice elementary teachers in order to assess their initial preparedness to engage students in these two important aspects of early algebraic reasoning. Findings indicated that preservice teachers collectively demonstrated an awareness of relational thinking…

Discusses the significant contributions to American education of the late Albert Shanker, the president of the American Federation of Teachers from 1974-1997. (PKP)

Examines whether teaching candidates who passed a basic competency screening test also possessed a level of general academic aptitude significantly higher than those who did not pass. Findings from 293 teachers who took the California Basic Educational Skills Test and had Scholastic Aptitude Test scores available show that requiring minimum…

The authors of this volume's stimulus papers have taken on the challenge of developing measures of teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT). This task involves multiple decisions and considerations, including: (1) How does one specify the body of knowledge being assessed? What warrants are offered for those choices?; (2) How does one…

The paper reports on the Montana Education Stakeholders Conference for National Board Certification (Helena, Montana, May 5, 1995), which met to discuss the impact of National Board Certification on Montana education. The content of the meeting is outlined, including summaries of presentations on the National Board for Professional Teaching…

Discusses faculty evaluation programs at 11 community colleges, focusing on procedures used, the frequency of evaluation, and areas evaluated. Indicates that although the 11 colleges used all of the main types of faculty evaluation procedures, substantive differences existed among the schools regarding frequency of use and instrument content. (MAB)

The author offers some thoughts on commentator's reactions to the substance of the measures, particularly those about measuring teacher learning and change, based on the major uses of the measures, and because this is a significant challenge facing test development as an enterprise. If teacher learning results in more integrated knowledge or…

This paper offers a broader framework for assessment and evaluation of teachers in developing countries. Teacher is seen not only as some one who imparts knowledge and skills but in the developing world, teacher has a wider role to play. (Contains 2 tables, 3 figures, and 13 footnotes.)

Investigated the concurrent validity of various PLACE (Program for Licensing Assessments for Colorado Educators) tests, noting how they fared on judgments of more contemporary notions of validity. Analysis of seven iterations of PLACE tests from five Colorado institutions supported the construct validity of the PLACE. This paper reports the…

In this article, the author echoes his co-author's and colleague's pleasure (Hill, this issue) at the thoughtfulness and far-ranging nature of the comments to their initial attempts at test validation for the mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT) measures using the validity argument approach. Because of the large number of commentaries they…

Describes how Metropolitan State College of Denver, a large undergraduate institution, developed and implemented a case-based special-education curriculum approach to special-education teacher preparation. Of 20 students prepared using the case-based method, 19 have successfully passed the State of Colorado mandated teacher competency test.…

This fastback gives teachers and other educators a feel for being a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards candidate, offering an outline of the candidacy process, ways to assess readiness to become a candidate, and tips for proceeding through candidacy. Section 1, "National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS),"…

The author posits that testing teacher quality will not improve education unless people realize how current means of teacher testing could eliminate from teacher preparation the utopian elements that foundations courses present through material from authors such as Maxine Greene, Samuel Bowles, and Herbert Gintis. He presents a history of the…