Part of understanding the issues that surround the implementation of transformative federal mandates such as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) is the accumulation of sound, evidenced-based findings that are coupled with rich descriptive explanatory findings. By doing so, the research community supports educational practice to continually…

The purpose of this guide is to help experienced professional developers and others organize and conduct professional development that trains facilitators of National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) study circles. Promoters of the study circle facilitators training should be experienced trainers. This guide includes…

This report to the Legislature and Governor provides recommendations on the design of a workable structure for the annual evaluation of district-level performance for California Community College districts. Under contract with the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office, a six-member panel of the Research and Planning Group for…

The Public Law Research Institute at the University of California Hastings College of the Law, with whom the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) forged a partnership to research, analyze, and make sound recommendations regarding an accountability structure, provides an excellent opportunity for CPEC regarding federal and state…

Educational institutions are being encouraged by accrediting agencies to move beyond the traditional measures of success such as satisfaction surveys from students, employers, and alumni. They stress the use of a variety of measurement tools to audit students' work. Thus, this study will seek to identify multiple assessment strategies that can be…

In 1999 the Texas Legislature provided for the creation of the Master Reading Teacher (MRT) Certificate to address several issues. MRTs primary duties are to: serve as reading teachers; consult with and mentor other teachers; and provide research-based information and training. In September 2001 the Texas Education Agency asked Dr. Jan Hasbrouck…

The articles in this engaging volume, mostly from Young Children, address the purposes of and uses for assessment. Expert commentary from Marian Marion, Gayle Mindes, Richard Clifford, Diane Trister Dodge and others offers an overview of the topic and specific examples to show how assessment informs and improves practice in early childhood…

In 1994, the Mississippi legislature enacted the Workforce Education Act, Senate Bill 2955, which called for the creation of One-Stop Career Centers affiliated with each community college district. The mission of the One-Stop Career Centers was to provide assessment, training, and placement services to individuals needing training, retraining, and…

The purpose of this monograph is to lay the groundwork for developing a series of indicators for education that can be used to monitory progress in education projects, in country-specific education systems, in developmental spinoffs from investment in education, and in terms of poverty reduction. The first chapter sketches a conceptual framework…

In an attempt to include more students with disabilities in large-scale assessments, 12 states (Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Louisiana, North Dakota, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, and West Virginia) allowed out-of-level testing during the 2000-2001 school year. This report discusses the context of state assessment…

Alternate assessments provide a mechanism for students with complex disabilities to be included in assessment systems. An integral part of maximizing the benefits of assessing students is to include the results of alternate assessments in school accountability systems. This report addresses policy options for including the results of alternate…

This paper explores a new approach to the evaluation of educational technologies by using Eisner's connoisseurship model. This model has two essential features in program evaluation: holistic approach to the analysis and interpretation of data and multiple perspectives in the evaluative tasks (Eisner, 1998). Using Eisner's model, the key…

This document contains the distance learning evaluator training program of the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC), which is intended for the following audiences: institutions considering or actually undergoing reaccreditation; new accrediting commission evaluators; and trained evaluators. The following are among the topics covered in…

School-based outdoor and experiential programs face an increasing demand from outside interests for research-based accountability. This paper suggests that both research and practice are strengthened by researcher-practitioner partnerships and by practitioners conducting their own research. Three modest qualitative research designs are explored as…

This document contains five papers examining evaluation concepts and practice in selected distance education (DE) institutions. "Preface" (Harish Rathore, Rudolf Schuemer) defines evaluation in DE and provides an overview of the evaluation philosophies, agendas, and methodologies discussed in the five papers. "Evaluation Practices at the Indira…