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Portfolios have been used in a variety of ways for assessing student work. In education, generally, and more specifically in second language education, portfolios have been associated with alternative assessment (Darling‐Hammond, 1994; Hamayan, 1995; Shohamy, 1996; Wolf, Bixby, Glenn, & Gardener, 1991). This article defines alternative assessment as representing a paradigm and culture that is different from traditional testing, requiring a different approach to addressing the issues of validity and ethics. We present a framework that integrates a consideration of how power relations determine the ethics and validity of assessment inferences. We then apply that framework to the assessment of student portfolios in a master of arts in TESOL (MA TESOL) program.

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This article reviews the statutory background of Title IX and provides an analysis of three recent legal cases that address gender equity issues. Most specifically, the article examines three recent lawsuits, all initiated and decided after 1988 legislation reinvigorated Title IX. These cases involving Colorado State University, Brown University, and Indiana University of Pennsylvania illustrate the approach the courts are taking on gender equity and the practical difficulties of achieving gender equity in an era of fiscal austerity. The article examines the impact of other recent litigation arising out of Title IX and analyzes the gender equity strategy of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The article concludes proposing a comprehensive game plan for Title IX compliance in today's fiscal climate by analyzing compliance factors, methods of achieving gender equity, and the economics and ethos of budget cutting.

This study compares the university aspirations of a cohort of rural young people to a sample of outer-metropolitan youth of the same age and similar socio-economic background from Western Australia. Our hypothesis was that aspects of the rural context adversely affect the university aspirations of rural youth. We made two assumptions: university does have the potential to provide the graduate with significant advantages; and the significant under-representation of rural youth at universities should be a concern for governments and universities. In this study, the concept of ‘university aspiration’ provided the focus for comparative research into the factors that influence the career behaviour of two cohorts of Year II students studied. Students' aspirations for university study and the factors related to their aspirations were the same for both areas. However, there were minor, but statistically significant, differences, which suggest that a more in-depth understanding of local rural situations is required to understand the factors that influence their university aspirations. We conclude that recent policy emphasis targeting disadvantaged outer-metropolitan areas is also appropriate and should complement efforts to encourage the enrolment in university of rural and isolated students.