This study investigated the relationship between the quality of peer assessment and the quality of student projects in a technology application course for teacher education students. Forty-three undergraduate student participants completed the assigned projects. During the peer assessment process, students first anonymously rated and commented on two randomly assigned peers' projects, and they were then asked to improve their projects based on the feedback they received. Two independent raters blindly evaluated student initial and final projects. Data analysis indicated that when controlling for the quality of the initial projects, there was a significant relationship between the quality of peer feedback students provided for others and the quality of the students' own final projects. However, no significant relationship was found between the quality of peer feedback students received and the quality of their own final projects. This finding supported a prior research claim that active engagement in reviewing peers' projects may facilitate student learning. Theoretical frameworkPeer assessment is a process in which students evaluate the performance or achievement of peers (Topping, Smith, Swanson & Elliot, 2000). This innovative assessment approach aims to empower students and foster active learning. Peer assessment can provide summative grading when students rate each other's performance. But many cases focus also on formative goals, such as promoting student learning. In most formative peer assessment models, students act as both assessors and assessees. As assessors, they review peers' work and provide constructive feedback. As assessees, students receive feedback and may make improvements accordingly. Through such processes, peer assessment becomes a strategy for formative assessment and a tool for reflection by students (Cheng & Warren, 1999).

This study analyzed the instructional reading methods and reading assessment practices employed by K-12 special education teachers. Eight hundred special education teachers from four Midwestern states were surveyed regarding the frequency of use and usefulness of standardized and informal reading assessment practices and the frequency with which they used various reading instructional techniques. Responses were analyzed to determine percent of teachers employing each technique and the mean rating of usefulness assigned to each. Analysis included examination of the relationships between grade levels and instructional settings and teachers' preferences for reading instructional and assessment practices. The survey found that reading assessment practices present in the literature are not commonly used by special education teachers.

Administrators of programs for children with communicative disorders in 11 midwestern states were surveyed to assess trends in the training and utilization of paraprofessionals. Topics included: (a) current trends in employment, (b) paraprofessional training, (c) use of ASHA and state guidelines, and (d) district policies for supervision. Selection criteria, use of job descriptions, training programs, and supervision practices and policies were examined. Results indicate that paraprofessionals are used but that standards for training and supervision are not consistently applied across all programs. Program administrators report minimal training for supervising professionals.

Peer assessment is an instructional strategy in which students evaluate each other’s performance for the purpose of improving learning. Despite its accepted use in higher education, researchers and educators have reported concerns such as students’ time on task, the impact of peer pressure on the accuracy of marking, and students’ lack of ability to make critical judgments about peers’ work. This study explored student perceptions of a web-based peer assessment system. Findings conclude that web-based peer assessment can be effective in minimizing peer pressure, reducing management workload, stimulating student interactions, and enhancing student understanding of marking criteria and critical assessment skills. Résumé : L’évaluation par les pairs est une stratégie pédagogique au cours de laquelle l’étudiant évalue la performance de l’autre dans un but d’amélioration de l’apprentissage. Malgré son usage répondu aux études supérieures, les chercheurs et les enseignants ont mentionné certaines préoccupations, notamment en ce qui a trait au temps que les étudiants consacrent à cette tâche, à l’impact de la pression des pairs sur la justesse de l’évaluation, ainsi qu’à l’inaptitude des étudiants à poser un jugement critique sur le travail de leurs pairs. La présente étude explore les perceptions des étudiants à l’égard d’un système d’évaluation en ligne par les pairs. Nos résultats nous permettent de conclure que l’évaluation en ligne par les pairs peut constituer un moyen efficace de réduire la pression des pairs, de diminuer le travail de gestion, de stimuler les interactions entre étudiants et d’améliorer la compréhension des critères d’évaluation par les étudiants ainsi que leurs compétences d’évaluation critique.

No abstract