One of the primary diagnostic criteria for the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is the presence of a language delay or impairment. Children with ASD are now being identified at significantly younger ages, and prior research has consistently found that early language skills in this population are heterogeneous and an important predictor…

Librarians at Washington State University Vancouver helped the campus develop a method of assessing its General Education Program, a program based on university learning goals, one of which is information literacy. The assessment method, which relies on an electronic portfolio (ePortfolio) along with rubrics to evaluate work in the ePortfolio,…

Objective: The present study investigated the performance of Brazilian children in the Continuous Performance Test, CPT-II, and compared results to those of the norms obtained in the United States. Method: The U.S. norms were compared to those of a Brazilian sample composed of 6- to 11-year-olds separated into 4 age-groups (half boys) that…

Policy makers are turning away from individual performance pay, favoring school-based rewards that expand curriculum or fund other improvements. Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Texas have adopted performance-based rewards and sanctions. Policy makers must balance state and local control and align performance indicators with school…

To determine the extent to which findings from studies with learners with high-level entry proficiency might apply to other learners, a group of 80 senior education majors were assigned to the Aircraft Instrument Comprehension Program under a variety of combinations of incentive, instruction, and feedback. In general the present study supports the…

Three methods that can be used subsequent to a regression analysis to determine the relative effectiveness of schools are Dyer's performance indicators, Scheffe's hyperbolic confidence bands, and Gafarian's linear confidence bands. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relative usefulness of the three methods under various conditions.…

A program to train bank operations supervisors to conduct quarterly informal performance appraisals involved three modes: content-only training, content-plus-procedure training, and no training. While content-plus-procedure was predictably the most satisfactory, content-only, because it lacked a practice component, was less effective than no…

The American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) defines human performance technology (HPT) as "a systematic approach to analyzing, improving, and managing performance in the workplace through the use of appropriate and varied interventions." The first step in this approach is the performance analysis (Gilbert, 1978). In this…

Discusses the need for trainers to evaluate the training requests they receive to determine whether they are appropriate for the situation. Suggests how trainers can prepare themselves for roles as performance consultants. (JOW)

This document contains the Phase III report from the "What Works in Oklahoma Schools" study. As opposed to describing the findings from the study that was conducted, it provides a tool-kit that can be used by Oklahoma principals and teachers to determine the best courses of action for their schools and classrooms. The tools provided in…

This fact sheet summarizes a study that examined how schools in the U.S. Gulf Coast region perceived the mental health needs of students after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and how schools responded. According to the report, despite strong initial efforts to support the mental health needs of students displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, many…

Performance benchmarks are proposed to assist undergraduate psychology programs in defining their missions and goals as well as documenting their effectiveness. Experienced academic program reviewers compared their experiences to formulate a developmental framework of attributes of undergraduate programs focusing on activity in 8 domains:…

The Conference Evaluation by Objectives method was designed to be an objective way of measureing program impact upon participants. At a convention program, speakers were asked to summarize their presentations in three or four participant-centered objectives. Participants were given a brief, easy to fill in and easy to tabulate form to evaluate the…

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) and the Maryland Learning Outcomes (MLOs) on mathematics classroom instruction and assessment practices, professional development, and student learning. The data sources included questionnaires for principals, mathematics teachers, and…

One of the greatest challenges for those who study schools and their success in educating students is defining the characteristics of those organizations that are successful, and recognizing the variables that exist to support the actions of the members of the organization. In this era of assessment and accountability, school districts struggle to…