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As the commitment to performance assessments as a strategy of reform has increased across the nation, so has the controversy surrounding the purposes, development, implementation, and effects of alternative forms of assessment. One of the first of its kind, this edited volume provides an incisive and comprehensive account of the issues pertaining to performance assessments. The 10 papers comprising the volume were originally written to establish a conceptual framework for a three-year U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement sponsored national study of performance assessments. Written by leading experts in the field, the papers explicate the central issues regarding the development, implementation, and utility of performance assessments. The topics covered by the papers include: * a discussion of contemporary as well as historical events in the performance assessment movement; * technical characteristics of performance assessments, including reliability, validity, generalizability, and calibration; * conceptualization and calculation of the costs of performance assessments; * the implications of performance assessments on students who have traditionally done less well in American schools, including racial and linguistic minorities; * the fit between performance assessments and organizational change in education; and * the utilization of performance assessment as an instrument of state policy. Readers will find the policy and technical issues covered in this volume to be useful from a variety of academic, research, and policy perspectives including conceptualizing and implementing performance assessments.