Peer assessment is understood to be an arrangement with students assessing the quality of their fellow students' writings and giving feedback to each other. This multiple-case study of seven designs of peer assessment focuses on the contribution of peer assessment to the acquisition of undergraduates' writing skills. Its aim is to arrive at an…

Over the last few years there has been increasing interest in process-based approaches in higher education administration, including "business process modelling" for development of information systems, "process redesign" to remove duplication and bottlenecks, and "process management" to improve operational…

Developing evaluation capacity in organizations is a complex and multifaceted task. This article outlines a framework for building evaluation capacity. The framework is based on four strategic methods for teaching evaluation: (a) using logic models for sound program planning, (b) providing one-on-one help, (c) facilitating small-team collaborative…

Concept maps provide a unique pictorial representation of an individual's understanding of a concept, problem, or idea. As tools in the undergraduate and graduate programs of an institution of higher learning, concept maps provide faculty with interesting and effective ways to assess learning by students in all academic areas. Concept maps can…

This resource guide is intended to help in planning special education program evaluations. It focuses on: basic evaluation concepts, identification of special education decision makers and their information needs, specific evaluation questions, procedures for gathering relevant information, and evaluation of the evaluation process itself.…

This packet introduces some concepts in evaluation and accountability for mental health professionals in schools. The first section presents two briefs from the Clearinghouse of the Center for Mental Health in Schools. The first, "Mental Health in Schools: Quality Control, Evaluating Outcomes, and Getting Credit for All You Do," highlights the…

This manual (and an accompanying video) is a literacy audit tool to help adult education practitioners find out how their clients and staff rate their organization's success in meeting the literacy needs of clients. The manual also contains background information about literacy and suggestions on how to use the literacy audit to help an…

A capstone course, entitled "Coordinating Seminar," has been developed at Rivier College, a small Roman Catholic liberal arts college in New England, as a vehicle for assessment in the Psychology Department. Assessment has been defined by Rivier College as a collegewide effort to document and verify the amount and quality of educational change in…

Students in grades 3 to 8, who participated in the Follow Through program in Portland, Oregon, were tested for their reading and mathematics achievement during Fall 1979, Spring and Fall 1980, and Spring 1981. The measuring instrument used was the Portland Basic Skills Achievement Levels Testing Program. Test results were reported as RIT (Rasch…

Many developmental educators have been assigned increased responsibilities for campus-wide enrollment management activities. A new system is needed for educators to more accurately sort through the rapidly growing database of information related to student retention. This will enable the reader to more quickly identify promising practices for…

A description is provided of Tennessee's Volunteer State Community College's (VSCC's) approach to defining the goals, expected outcomes, and assessment procedures of individual courses, utilizing teacher-developed course instruction manuals and standardized course syllabi. Introductory material explains why and how the approach was developed,…

The field of social innovation policy can presently be seen as divided into two opposing camps: pro-fidelity and pro-adaptation. The former conceptualizes innovations as consisting of a number of relatively well specified components, and argue that rigorously developed, evaluated programs should be implemented with close correspondence to…

This analysis reveals critical weaknesses surrounding the theoretical basis for the AIR (American Institutes for Research) evaluation design. It poses questions concerning the evaluation methodology. Specifically, it identifies major discrepancies in the identification of the target population, the selection of comparable control groups, test…

The development of A Simulation in Educational Evaluation (SIMEDEVAL), a simulation designed to increase the evaluation capability of school personnel is described. The Discrepancy Evaluation Model served as the simulation model and the framework for field test procedure. Instruments were constructed and validated for use in the field test with…

This paper briefly reviews the current racial balance in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania public schools and discusses the development of an evaluation system to assess progress toward desegregation. Priority products and services of the Desegregation Evaluation Unit, formed in 1979, are listed. A number of problems that must be addressed in order for…