From 1989 until 1998 the U.S. Department of Education administered the National Workplace Literacy Demonstration Program. During that period, over $130 million supported some 300 projects where adult education programs partnered with thousands of businesses, agencies, and organizations to provide work-based skills to employees. While only seven…

This report describes the model used by the Oregon State System for Higher Education to assess the impact of higher education on the growth and change in students as a result of participation in higher education. The model prescribes assessments of general knowledge and abilities, learning environment, major field knowledge, degree completion,…

This report reviews the outcomes of a forum convened to examine policy and practice issues surrounding the annual evaluation of effectiveness of programs and services for students with disabilities. At the forum, alternative approaches being used by states to implement program evaluation were discussed, along with issues in gathering…

This is the first report from a 5-year study of the classroom level effects of state assessment reforms. The first year examines changes in the teaching of writing and mathematics in Kentucky elementary and middle schools as a result of the Kentucky Instructional Results Information System and the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA). This report…

In 1998 the Colorado State General Assembly passed a bill that revised the schedule for implementation of the Colorado Student Assessment Program of state assessments. During the 1998-99 school year, the state assessment was to include third-grade literacy, fourth-grade reading and writing, and seventh-grade reading and writing. The newsletters in…

This report presents information on the status of arts education in South Dakota schools. Central to the report are the findings of a statewide survey of school districts that was conducted as part of a long-term project to advance the arts in South Dakota schools. Findings are reported in a number of areas, including budgets, staffing, course…

In 1980, the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) revised the instruments used to assess basic skills attainment in mathematics and reading of all students in grades 4, 7, and 10. The research summarized in this paper examined the factor structures of the 1979 and 1980 versions of the Grade 10 MEAP mathematics test. These two versions…

The 1981 and 1984 studies of revision, developed by the Wisconsin Pupil Assessment Program, are described in this document, which examines how well students are able to revise their own papers. Contents include an explanation of how the 1981 and 1984 evaluation criteria were created; an overview of the results of the 1984 revision study for grades…

South Carolina is developing and implementing assessment processes for two programs aimed at improving the quality of education in the state. One program involves recognizing outstanding progress by individual meritorious schools. The other program provides for state intervention in districts that fail to meet educational quality standards. Both…

Gubernatorial mandates involving value-added assessment and teacher competency testing have intensified external expectations of the institutional research community. With governors thus promoting quality in higher education, institutional researchers must exert leadership in identifying potential implications of state policies. The image of 20…

The State of Florida has, for several years, been committed to perfecting a workable system of accountability for the public schools. The Florida Statewide Assessment Program, begun in 1971, has been an important element in this accountability effort. The Program was designed to assess students' academic strengths and weaknesses, particularly in…

Sections 51215-51217 of California's Educational Code require that school districts in that state provide remedial instruction to students who do not pass district-developed proficiency tests. As a result of this requirement, school districts have had to create remedial courses for some 100,000 students who did not pass one or more tests in…

Improved dissemination and utilization of results from statewide assessment of student performance is critically needed. Prior research shows that less than one third of all states can provide evidence of using such data to make significant classes of decisions most frequently cited as a justification for the initiation of such programs. Yet the…

Information in the report is taken from FY 1973 annual vocational education reports submitted by States and major cities and from the 1970 census report. The material indicates the proportion of the States' population served by vocational education in the major cities and the expenditures that were made for vocational education. The total…

What is meant by "accountability" varies a great deal. It is not, however, the tools such as merit salary plans, voucher plans, and management techniques that are used to achieve accountability. Accountability has from its earliest days been tied to testing. In discussing testing, it is necessary to discuss the pros and cons of standardized, or…