This book is designed to help teachers, especially secondary school teachers, create and use performance assessments. The basic concept is that teachers must plan backwards from outcomes of education to shift the paradigm of curriculum-instruction-testing to a new and more fluid design. The book presents a wide variety of assessment approaches…

This paper describes and evaluates three wholly integrated classroom programs at Robert Morris College in Pittsburgh, in two different writing/communication curriculums, involving the students' creation of a portfolio as an organic and expanding set of inter-related narrations, written and spoken, based on constant, though diversified reflections…

This paper discusses portfolios as an evaluative process in teacher education, noting that although there has been significant curriculum change over the years, yet little change has occurred in student evaluation methods. For schools to demonstrate improvement, new and creative evaluation measures are needed. Portfolios provide a chance to create…

Educational refinement is defined as attempts to improve education through incremental improvements in the existing structure, while educational reform refers to change in the structure itself. A strong move is underway to reform education in the United States. It is argued that the development of assessments in support of educational reform…

This paper addresses the many uses of the writing portfolio in general education at the college level, particularly in classrooms teaching business communication. It describes what elements could be contained within a portfolio, the role the portfolio can play in the assessment process, and the pedagogical implications of a class that is organized…

This paper offers suggestions for using portfolios to assess teacher performance. Key policy decisions that should be addressed prior to preparation of the portfolios include purpose, domains, audience, administrative matters, technical issues, and legal issues. After these policy decisions have been made, guidelines for portfolio design--its…

The 1992-93 school year saw the second statewide implementation of the Vermont portfolio-assessment program, and RAND continued its ongoing evaluation of the program's implementation, effects, and data quality. While the first year's study found evidence of the impact of the assessment program and low reliability of portfolio scoring, this year's…

A research plan for investigating the effects of student portfolios on teaching and learning at three different school sites is described. The plan accommodates two categories of research questions: (1) broad, cross-site questions; and (2) site-specific questions generated by participants at each individual site. Data collection strategies…

This collection of administrative, planning, and teaching materials focuses on an immersion approach to engaging learners in whole literacy. The collection's 6 sections are as follows: (1) Role of the Administrator (Mary Dill); (2) Role of the Reading Teacher (Carleen Payne); (3) Batteries and Bulbs (DonnaLynn Estes); (4) Bears (Lois Laase); (5)…

The Portfolio Process, piloted by the University of West Florida and recently mandated by the Florida State Board of Education as the central element of the Florida Beginning Teacher Program, is a model for professional development of teaching competence. The portfolio is both a product and a process. As a product, the portfolio is a personalized…

This document describes the Indiana beginning vocational teacher's plan for license renewal and is intended for use by the vocational administrator and the experienced teacher who are acting as mentors for the beginning teacher. The first part of the handbook includes the following materials: outline of requirements of the occupational specialist…

The intention of this report is to build a strong case for a portfolio approach to assessment of reading and writing during the middle school years. A portfolio is both a collection of the artifacts of students' reading and writing and a disposition toward assessment. This disposition is characterized by the belief that assessment must be…

A guide to what college-bound students need to know to prepare the most effective college application is presented by three former college admissions officers. Step-by-step strategies are offered to help students take control of the application process and use it to their best advantage. Three basic areas of a college application are examined:…

This unit, one in a series of packets of teacher and student materials for cooperative occupational education (COE) designed for special needs students, is intended to introduce students to three common methods used to contact prospective employers and to prepare them to make the initial contact. Each unit will probably require more than a single…

This student handbook accompanies a curriculum guide for a course on preemployment skills related to job searching. (The materials may also be incorporated into another course.) Following an introduction, its next 12 chapters cover topics corresponding to those in the curriculum guide. These chapters provide information on sources of employment,…