WRINKLES IN TIME AND PLACE - USING PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENTS TO UNDERSTAND THE KNOWLEDGE OF HISTORY TEACHERS

Newforms of assessment are sweeping the country. This article reports findings from one of the first projects to develop and field-test perf ormance-based assessments for teachers, Stanford University's Teacher Assessment Project. The authors analyze the responses of two high scho ol history teachers on three performance assessments of teaching (a) E valuation of Student Papers, in which teachers read and responded to a set of student essays; (b) Use of Documentary Materials, in which tea chers planned a classroom activity using primary sources; and (c) Text book Analysis, in which teachers evaluated a selection from a widely u sed U. S. history textbook. Differences emerged in the teachers' conce ptions of their roles and responsibilities, their images of student ab ility and motivation, their views on student learning, and their subje ct matter and pedagogical content knowledge. The authors discuss what performance assessments can tell us about pedagogical knowledge and re asoning, and explore the implications of this work for policy and prac tice.