Portfolio assessment has become a standard mechanism for the evaluation of prior learning for experienced students. An informal survey of portfolio narratives receiving faculty approval for credit at various postsecondary institutions indicates a wide range of declarative, analytical, and interpretive assertions recognized as "learning" in these…

Describes how the retelling of stories can reveal (1) the point or points students see in the stories they read and (2) the problems students have organizing the different elements of a story into a coherent whole. (HOD)

By the time a student who has reading problems reaches adolescence, patterns of avoidance, denial, and resistance may hinder classroom participation. This book shows a teacher how to convince a student who is mistakenly labeled as unmotivated and without goals that academic success is attainable. The book provides tips, techniques, and strategies…

Student-completed course evaluations are used almost exclusively in collegiate education. This paper proposes the use of student evaluations in secondary education, specifically in social studies, for the purpose of improving teacher and course effectiveness. The paper presents an informal method of student course evaluation by describing a…

Argues that, in determining if a standardized test task and a classroom performance task are the same, educators should carefully analyze the tasks in terms of the input modality (stimulus) and the output modality (response). (FL)

A survey of 150 British teachers in schools for the severely mentally handicapped to investigate techniques used for language and communication assessment is discussed. (SB)

Educational media professionals were asked to rank-order individuals, positions, institutions, and journals in the general field of instructional technology for this survey of 350 members of the Association of Educational Communications and Technology (AECT). Responses to the six questions designed to determine centers of influence and prestige…

Gives an overview of the development and testing of an interview instrument used by teachers of English as a second language to assess the oral proficiency of nonnative speakers. (The actual instrument is reprinted in the article that follows this one). (SK)

A questionnaire was sent to college relations personnel and recruiters to determine how they viewed their role. They perceived their role as highly influential, expressed a high degree of job satisfaction, and felt that their influence on corporate personnel activities should be greater. (Author/KMF)

Informal assessment techniques are adaptable to local adult basic education needs, relatively free of anxiety-producing format, effective time utilizers, and immediately interpretable by teacher/student. Presents assessment examples: student selected materials, Verbal Picture Analysis, graded paragraphs, Cloze Procedure, sentence completion,…

Low grades and papers overrun with corrections can discourage children from learning to write. Assuming children who write a great deal can become good writers, this article provides alternatives to grading: individual, weekly conferences; editing by peers; and use of an overhead projector. Praise and comments are considered a must. (DS)

Discusses the "Biographic Literacy Profiles Project," a seminar for teachers and administrators which focused on developing an alternative to current assessment methods in elementary language arts. Shows how the process of changing assessment patterns can reflect the same integrative, holistic goals that teachers have for working with…

Discusses assessment as an integral part of teaching. Describes informal assessment and instructional decision making. Discusses the scope and methods of assessment. Provides examples of assessment related to the standards. (YP)

Describes one teacher's implementation of subjective grading to assess student's achievement on mathematics tests. Reports student and parent reactions to the method. Shares five practices that developed with the experiences, and provides an example of the grading policy utilized. (MDH)

This article is organized into two parts: (1) a review of literature on teachers' grading practices, and (2) a discussion of the findings about teachers' grading practices in light of evaluation and motivation theory. The discussion considers both research implications and practical recommendations. (Author)