High-quality assessments are crucial to many aspects of the educational process. They can help policymakers monitor long-term educational trends, assist state educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) in allocating resources and professional development opportunities, provide insights to teachers about how well students…

The 360[degree] evaluation process is a process that gathers feedback from each area of one's work life. Evaluations are done by one's superiors, colleagues, and direct reports. For a teacher, the list of contributors would include parents, coworkers, directors, consultants, board members, and other members of the school community. In other words,…

Maintains that the recent statewide trend in teacher evaluation systems may not evaluate music educators adequately. Provides four case studies on music teacher evaluation results. Shows that music teachers are below the norm on the majority of competencies. Evaluates results of the study and discusses possible reasons why music educators have low…

Discusses the importance of fairness in evaluation studies of second-language programs and the potential for misinterpretation of studies which are not program-fair. Strategies designed to overcome this problem from the perspective of standardized tests include: specific tests for each program, program-specific plus program-neutral measures,…

This paper suggests that there are ways to organize the literature, both within music and in related fields of study, so that the interested professional can engage in an active organized study of creative thinking in music. There are also ways of defining musical behaviors that are indicative of creative thinking in children as well as adults.…

Discussed is the issue of the appropriateness of applied science approaches to evaluation in environmental education. The relationships between characteristics of applied science approaches to evaluation and the special characteristics of environmental education are explored. (Author/YP)

Described is a rationale and process that can be used for the evaluation of environmental education programs. Expectations, planning, results, and using results are all discussed as steps in the evaluation process. (CW)

Advises principals to back up their impressions of teachers' performance by using three types of documentation: informal (logging incidents and actions during the school year), formal (classroom observations); and summative (year-end, written evaluations of each teacher's overall performance). Sound instructional leadership requires documentation…

Describes assessment in the German school system as regular, systematic, and officially controlled through legislation. Emphasizes that even strict grading levels combine criterion and norm referencing because teacher determination must include a subjective element. Concludes that other systems may best learn negative lessons from the German…

Discusses the use of portfolio assessments to evaluate students with hearing impairments. It addresses reasons for using portfolios, problems with conventional assessments, how a portfolio looks, what should be included in a portfolio, and practical considerations when implementing portfolio assessments, including time requirements and student…

Multiple sources of influence impact the decisions about what and how teacher educators are expected to operate, including the innovations that are adopted. Some of those sources of influence (such as teacher certification boards) can demand that certain curricula be adopted, specific instructional procedures be utilized, and delineate the…

The aim of this paper is threefold: (1) to develop a concept of what creativity is (with particular reference to what musical creativity is); (2) to decide whether or not creativity is a plausible educational goal; and (3) to suggest what might be done to either promote or discourage musical creativity based upon the results of the first two…

This digest discusses the assessment of children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Topics addressed include: (1) the purpose of an assessment of children who are deaf or hard of hearing; (2) problems associated with assessment, including the diagnostician's lack of experience with the deaf population, communication problems, tests that are normed…

Facing the problem of a wide discrepancy in grading standards for student essays, the English department at a Texas community college developed a standardized method of grading students' expository and persuasive essays. The department established a committee of 10 full-time instructors whose objective was to standardize grading for all required…

Most evaluations of technology-based instruction are poorly designed because of failure to control three common confounding variables: (1) use of different instructional methods in different treatments; (2) presentation of different content in different treatments; and (3) the novelty of new media, which tends to increase early motivation and…