Global university rankings are often thought of as games, defined by roles and rules that universities must play in order to confirm their legitimacy and gain visibility as actors in the global academic market. While some countries are well represented at the top of rankings charts, others are just joining the race and testing out different…

Sound evaluation planning requires numerous decisions about how constructs in a program theory will be translated into measures and instruments that produce evaluation data. This article, the first in a dialogue exchange, examines how decisions about measurement are (and should be) made, especially in the context of small-scale local program…

Critical thinking is an important outcome of a college education. Assessment techniques that require students to demonstrate their understanding of course concepts are referred to as authentic assessment and promote the development of critical thinking. Little research exists on the types of assessment and grading practices utilized by community…

Using computers to evaluate teachers based on student test scores is more difficult than it seems. Value-added modeling is a genuinely serious attempt to grapple with the difficulties. Value-added modeling carries the promise of measuring teacher quality automatically and objectively, and improving school systems at minimal cost. The essence of…

This article describes the Voluntary Support for Education (VSE) Survey, an instrument created by the Council for Aid to Education. Our objective is to explain VSE's potential value as a tool to inform both institutional and academic research regarding fund-raising activities at community colleges. Of particular interest is how the data available…

Research on the effectiveness of counseling clearly shows that counseling is effective in relation to no-treatment and placebo control conditions. The effects of counseling, attained in relatively brief time periods, seem to be relatively lasting. There is little evidence or specific efficacy for particular techniques or counseling theories. (69…

This document answers the question, "What has been learned about evaluation methodology from the decade of compensatory education"? Ten issues dealing with the evaluation of Title I were identified within a general theoretical framework of evaluation. For each issue it was the aim of this document to do the following: 1)to clarify the…

People who care about young people are aware of the serious problems caused by underage alcohol use. They should also be aware that there are many effective strategies for reducing underage drinking, and every state and community should be using these strategies. The "Guide to Conducting Youth Surveys" provides information about one important tool…