After establishing ambitious learning outcomes to prepare students for the next century, a Colorado school district used a framework developed at a nearby educational laboratory as a model to create appropriate assessment criteria and tasks. The revised assessment procedures have produced significant benefits for both students and teachers,…

A Colorado district's high school social studies teachers have collaborated to design curriculum guides that are useful to teachers, challenging for students, and aimed at integrating content outcomes with the district's five learner outcomes. The shift toward outcome-based education has produced guides emphasizing student performance, not content…

England's new General Certificate of Secondary Education examination has improved teaching and broadened the range of skills appraised. Besides demanding new skills, a new professionalism, and parents' and politicians' trust, performance assessment is costly and time-consuming. Despite all care and effort, some will not view this method as…

Dissatisfied with mandated standardized assessment modes, an Illinois elementary school began an alternative assessment program incorporating Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences. The assessment process became more meaningful through using learning experience forms and "portfolio evenings," in which children present their portfolios…

An Oregon elementary teacher encouraged a group of fourth grade students in a writing pullout program to share their writings in a portfolio she was assembling for an education class. The kids all volunteered their writing, learned to express themselves better, and asked to create their own portfolios. The experience fostered student ownership,…

In a New Hampshire school, literacy portfolios enable students to plan a relevant curriculum for themselves. After learning what each student values, teachers seek ways to honor students' concerns and outside interests. Instead of passively awaiting the next assignment, students make their own plans and, with teacher coaching, become better…

Assisted by a state grant, teachers and students at a rural Wyoming elementary school are using a laser disc portfolio assessment system. Recognizing that child development requires more than cognitive growth, students, staff, and parents will use the new system to determine children's growth in verbal ability, physical accomplishment, artistic…

Mathematics portfolios need not be limited to problem-solving efforts. When California algebra teacher asked students what portfolio contents would show their effort and learning, they suggested daily notes, personal budget and lottery projects, scale drawing, their best and worst tests, weekly problems, daily class notes, and homework. Students…

With a computer's assistance, a Missouri school is assessing its fifth graders' reading progress by recording their voices as they read aloud, then saving the students' self-evaluations along with the recordings in a computer portfolio. Program aims to involve students in self-evaluation and critical thinking, promote student ownership of reading…

Summarizes research supporting current beliefs in testing, identifies good assessment qualities, and reviews the current knowledge of test design. Standardized tests negatively affect academic program quality. Alternative assessments must be judged by their validity, reliability, consequences, fairness, generalizability, cognitive complexity,…

As director of Association for Supervision and Curriculum for 19 years, Gordon Cawelti traveled over 2 million miles to improve curriculum and teaching and provide leadership. After upgrading conference and journal quality in early years, Cawelti concentrated on promoting team leadership and developing a global education model. On retirement,…

Appointing administrators as instructional leaders worked to the detriment of teachers, who are now expected to transcend the old transmission teaching models and participate more actively in school management. Administrators must now become the servants of collective vision and act as editors, cheerleaders, problem solvers, resource finders, and…

Principals who are transformative leaders consistently use three building blocks to promote school success: a clear, unified purpose; a common cultural perspective; and a constant push for improvement. In one study, an opinionated, assertive middle school principal; a nurturing, supportive principal; and a high-energy, charismatic principal all…

Overattachment to particular innovations or overreliance on a charismatic leader can restrict consideration of alternatives and produce short-term gains or superficial solutions. To encourage lasting school improvement, principals should build collaborative cultures instead of imposing their own visions or change agendas. A sidebar illustrates a…

After years of watching administrators bully children, teachers, and parents into reform, a Fairbanks (Alaska) elementary principal decided to be a facilitator, not a dictator. Assuming a "servant leadership" role, this principal garnered community support for transforming an old, unwanted school into a new math-science learning center emphasizing…