Suggests that in digital library services assessment, anthropology can provide the initial understanding, the intellectual basis, on which informed choices about sample population, survey design, or focus group selection can reasonably be made. Analyzes the National Gallery of the Spoken Word (NGSW). Includes brief descriptions of nine NGSW…

Describes how one institution took advantage of an innovative internship program to conduct an assessment of its utilities operations. Describes how the program worked, the implementation of a "hot and cold deck optimization" approach, the savings that resulted from implementation, and the ongoing benefits of facilities' assessment. (RJM)

Reviews the status of national higher education evaluation systems and examines the lack of research into the process and nature of policy choice. Proposals are offered concerning methods to assist future policy choices and analysis of these systems. Identifies both positive achievements and controversial examples of national evaluation system…

Describes the development of alternative assessments being used successfully at two North Carolina elementary schools, noting the active participation of teachers in their development. From commonalities among the assessments, a seven-step, practice-based model was adapted and evaluated. The model highlights faculty buy-in, leadership, staff…

The rapid development of special education for the gifted in Taiwan from 1962 until the present is summarized. The comprehensive system of gifted education, using either the special class or the pull-out is described, along with identification procedures that are based on multi-assessment and use a step-by-step screening process. (Contains…

This commentary on "Accountability for All Students: Kentucky's Alternate Portfolio Assessment for Students with Moderate and Severe Cognitive Disabilities" (Kleinert and others), points out that Kentucky includes the assessment scores or results in the larger accountability system of the school and state. Noteworthy components and…

This response to comments on "Accountability for All Students: Kentucky's Alternate Portfolio Assessment for Students with Moderate and Severe Cognitive Disabilities" (Kleinert and others), discusses changes in the ways Alternate Portfolios are now scored and answers concerns on the inclusion of students with mild and severe disabilities…

Evaluates the use of student, graduate, and employer user surveys in guiding change processes within higher education programs in Denmark based on two surveys of and interviews with Danish university rectors and pro-rectors. Rectors report that, in practice, surveys provide only limited amounts of useful information and are thus less influential…

Responds to a conference held in March 1996 entitled "Ongoing Inquiry" and designed to present the research methods and results of a five-year study of aesthetic education at the Lincoln Center Institute (New York). Discusses the assessment methods used, the assumptions underlying the assessment project, and the value of aesthetic education…

Explores the frequency of selected musical elements in a sample of folk songs from Bahia Brazil using a computer program and manual analysis. Demonstrates that the contents of each beat are comprised of simple rhythmic elements, melodic ranges are within an octave, and most formal structures of the songs consist of four phrases. (CMK)

This case study chronicles the use of two educational planning tools, COACH (Choosing Outcomes and Accommodations for Children) and VISTA (Vermont Interdependent Services Team Approach) for a 4-year-old with Down syndrome who attends a general education preschool. The decision-making process and follow-up interviews are described, illustrating the…

Described is the administration and outcomes of an asynchronous, Web-based, comprehensive exam covering MSW foundation curriculum. Over a 48-hour period of test availability, 198 students completed the 4-hour-long exam composed of 100 randomly generated questions. Significant differences in student performance across college locations were found.…

In recent years, there have been numerous papers discussing the importance of improving the link between health promotion researchers and practitioners. Several reviews have been undertaken to determine the extent to which health promotion research is disseminated to, and utilized by, practitioners in the development and implementation of health…

This article explores some specific issues involved in online learning and assessment. It draws on data from a postgraduate course for professional educators, delivered globally online, and highlights the relationship between students' online discussion and their written assessed work, arguing that we need to focus on both of these in terms of the…

Estimates of the costs and consequences of many types of public policy proposals play an important role in the development and adoption of particular policy programs. Estimates of the same, or similar, policies that employ different modeling approaches can yield widely divergent results. Such divergence often undermines effective policymaking.…