The general secondary stage in Egypt is a vital educational phase since it plays an essential role in developing students' thinking and learning styles to prepare them for life in general and higher education in particular. Accordingly, it has become urgent and persistent to develop secondary-stage students' critical thinking styles while…

The focus of this presidential address is on the contemporary treatment of reliability and validity in educational assessment. Highlights on reliability are provided under the classical true-score model using tools from latent trait modeling to clarify important assumptions and procedures for reliability estimation. In addition to reliability,…

Academic program life cycle concept states each program's life flows through several stages: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. A mixed-influence diffusion growth model is fitted to enrolment data on academic programs to analyze the factors determining progress of academic programs through their life cycles. The regression analysis yield…

The concept of dynamic vertical scaling (DVS) from longitudinal point of view has been proposed as comparing to traditional vertical scaling or static vertical scaling (SVS) from cross-sectional perspective. The effects of differences between DVS and SVS on large-scale student achievements have been investigated. The potential application of DVS…

This paper analyzes the influence of three different learning paradigms for learning literacy--formalist, cognitive-processing, and literacy practices--on the implementation of the Common Core State Standards. It argues that the Common Core State Standards are based largely on a formalist paradigm as evident in the emphasis on teaching text…

Extensive education research on the contribution of teachers to student achievement produces two generally accepted results. First, teacher quality varies substantially as measured by the value added to student achievement or future academic attainment or earnings. Second, variables often used to determine entry into the profession and…

The emerging concept of program theory and its function in program evaluation practice is the central focus of this paper. It appears that the traditional decision/adoption model, when considered in conjunction with the institutionalized beliefs, values, and methodological procedures of the state Cooperative Extension Services, meets the criteria…

Tasks are the most visible element in an educational assessment. Their purpose, however, is to provide evidence about targets of inference that cannot be directly seen at all: what examinees know and can do, more broadly conceived than can be observed in the context of any particular set of tasks. This paper concerns issues in an assessment design…

The Comparing Options in Secondary Mathematics: Investigating Curriculum (COSMIC) project is a longitudinal study of student learning from two types of mathematics curricula: integrated and subject-specific. Previous large-scale research studies such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) indicate that numerous variables are…

Drawing on an international roundtable, presents summary principles to establish a typology of different countries' ranking of higher education institutions. The principles are intended to be of assistance in future discussions about the different benefits and limitations of ranking and league table systems. (EV)

As rural states nationwide struggle with cuts in education funding, declining enrollments and increased costs it becomes crucial to examine those schools that are successful in educating their students. These higher performing schools can then be used as models for education excellence throughout the state. Defining higher-performing is not an…

This paper makes the case that value added assessment (VAA) is one potential tool for increasing the accuracy of inferences regarding school effects, even though it is far from being a panacea. The promise of VAA rests in its focus on individual growth trajectories and its perceived ability to isolate the influence of a school from other factors…

This paper describes the development and validation of a school-accountability model. The model is based on the assumption that schools represent dynamic systems in which a change in one element will affect all other elements. The model's primary elements are educational input, processes, and outcomes. The paper examines various accountability…

The major potentials and pitfalls of adversary evaluation in education are discussed. Reasons why the courtroom model may have limited utility, and the difficulties in the debate model are identified. It is argued that the existence of opposing viewpoints is the core of adversary evaluation, not adherence to existing formats for presenting…

Some observations are presented on a social indicators approach to statewide educational assessment. The context of the observations is the Oregon Department of Education model for educational planning. Much of what is said can also be applied to educational planning and program evaluation at the federal level or in large school systems. For the…