This action guide is intended to assist in the reading of and reflection upon "Learning by Doing: A Handbook for Professional Learning Communities at Work, Second Edition" by Richard DuFour, Rebecca DuFour, Richard Eaker, and Thomas Many. The guide can be used by an individual, a small group, or an entire faculty to identify key points,…

This report entails background information and a proposed model for assessment of personnel responsible for curriculum development and management in Vocational-Technical education in Alabama (the result of a state/federal-funded project entitled "Vocational Education Curriculum Operation--Management Plan" or VO-ED COMP). Four approaches…

This guide examines claims for 24 schoolwide programs-- programs that promise to improve student learning by changing the entire school. Focusing on quantitative achievement measures such as test scores, grades, and graduation rates, the report was prepared for educators and others to assist them in their investigation of different approaches to…

People learn in many different ways and in many different places. What is learned informally or experientially is often the same or similar to what may be learned in traditional formal learning environments. There are many reasons why recognizing experiential learning is viable educational option, more so in today's economy than ever before. Prior…

This report documents the Hawaii Writing Assessment, which was undertaken to identify the writing strengths and weaknesses of Hawaii's public school children in kindergarten through grade twelve and to provide a basis for improvement in curriculum and instruction. The two sections of the report contain an overview of the assessment effort and…

Consisting of five sections, this paper presents the policy of the British Columbia (Canada) Ministry of Education regarding the organization of educational services for students through provincial curriculum and assessment programs. It also provides guidance to school and district personnel as they carry out their responsibilities to interpret…

This guide defines a methodology for program monitoring and discusses positive results achieved in Pennsylvania by implementing Instrument-based Program Monitoring (IPM) in the field of child day care services. IPM uses checklists or special questionnaires to structure monitoring interviews and site visits. This method differs substantially from…

What does it look like when a school uses data wisely? "Data Wise in Action", a new companion and sequel to the bestselling "Data Wise", tells the stories of eight very different schools following the Data Wise process of using assessment results to improve teaching and learning. "Data Wise in Action" highlights the…

In the spring of 1980, the Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DODDS) completed its second year of basic skills testing. During the first year, the Basic Skills Assessment Program tested students' math skills in grades 7 and 11, and reading and language skills in grades 9 and 11. During the second year, the testing program was expanded to…

Although much has been written about educational evaluation, few guidelines exist for consumers--project directors, school administrators, curriculum developers, legislators, teachers, parents, and boards of education. Several cautions surface from a review of the literature. First, tests that are based on program objectives are most useful to…

The purpose of this guide is to assist teachers and administrators in the implementation of relevant and rigorous collections of evidence for the Certificate of Advanced Mastery (CAM) Career-Related Learning Standards (CRLS) and Extended Application Standard (EA). This guide also provides necessary information to help schools meet the 2006-07…

This paper describes the components of an Instructional Accomplishment Information (IAI) system, discusses general procedures for using the information reports to communicate instructional accomplishments to appropriate audiences, compares IAI information and standardized tests in a public relations context, and notes the role of educational…

The School Planning, Evaluation, and Communication System (SPECS) is an overall design for districtwide program assessment and development. It is both a way of interrelating planning and evaluation of individual programs and a way of comparing the outcomes of all district programs with the district's community-defined educational goals. Component…

This paper discusses the importance and usefulness of assessing student goal attainment, reviews the steps required to select intervention goals, and describes several goal attainment measurement systems. Practical difficulties which are likely to be encountered are described and potential solutions to those difficulties are discussed. The…

Discussed is a type of evaluation unlike traditional methods in that it gives students an opportunity to exercise an influence on their own situation. Planning, procedures, and recordings are described. (CW)