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Effects of introducing performance-based assessments into the classroom were studied by examining instruction, student learning, and teacher attitudes and practices. As part of the larger study, workshops were conducted with third-grade teachers from three schools engaged in constructing performance assessments of literacy. Data from transcripts of these workshops are the focus of this analysis of issues and dilemmas that arose. The task of embedding assessments like running records and written summaries into the instruction and assessment process elicited quite different responses from teachers. At one school, teachers analyzed and debated all aspects of assessment development and instruction. At another, teachers emphasized specifics and moved quickly to implement the assessments and develop specific instructional techniques and scoring schemes. At the last school, a global perspective on literacy and its assessment created the most dissonance because teachers realized that some of their students did not read very well, and they differed in reacting to this information. Mandated classroom-based assessment should be implemented with an awareness that teacher responses may vary greatly. Two tables present study findings. (Contains 29 references.) (SLD)

1Boy Crusoe

By Allan Eric

Also published as" A Yankee Crusoe" . A 15 year old hard working and studious farm boy finds the lure of adventure on the seas as a merchant seaman more than he can resist. This is his story. " I was born in a little town in the State of Maine, near the close of the Civil War. My boyhood life did not differ materially from that of the average farmer's son in the remote country districts of New England--except, perhaps, that I read more and thought more. Hard work on the rugged soil, two terms each year in the little yellow country schoolhouse, a day's fishing now and then filled the early years of my life full to over-flowing. " What he gets is enough excitement and adventure to overflow his wildest dreams. How he experiences disaster and uses his wits and knowledge to overcome every problem makes for a great read. - Summary by Phil Chenevert