The movement toward school-based management (SBM) has promoted the need for self-imposed accountability. This book provides specific examples of strategies that schools have used to successfully implement SBM and to enhance their accountability functions. Chapter 1 provides the rationale for undertaking accountability measures, and the second…

Both concurrent and predictive validity of two developmental instruments, each purporting to measure the same five developmental dimensions, were compared. The Developmental Profile II (DPII), a commercial test, was administered to the same children when they were in prekindergarten and first grade. The initial samples were 91 and 267…

The emphasis on using performance assessments to support systematic state-, district-, or school-wide purposes is a recent development in the assessment-reform movement. This document presents data from a 3-year case study that was designed to elucidate the status of assessment reform in United States education systems and offer recommendations…

The emphasis on using performance assessments to support systematic state-, district-, or school-wide purposes is a recent development in the assessment-reform movement. A 3-year case study sought to describe the status of assessment reform in United States education systems and offer recommendations for policy and future research. The research…

By the end of 1995, 19 states had passed charter-school legislation and at least 16 others had considered similar legislation. This document summarizes the issues surrounding charter schools and the implications of recent research about the charter-school movement's failure. The document defines charter schools and their organization, describes…

Assessment of student progress is a challenge for educators who use developmentally appropriate practices such as multiage grouping. Interest in alternative types of assessment has become widespread. These performance-based, or authentic, assessments are explored in this document, which presents assessment strategies that work effectively with…

This digest discusses the role of continuous quality improvement (CQI) in college classroom effectiveness efforts, particularly specific institutions where sustained CQI programs have affected college classroom practice, these projects' common features, and lingering doubts about CQI. It discusses the general principles and philosophy of CQI and…

Twelve teachers and two principals from the Addison Northeast Supervisory Union School District (Vermont) met to consider what a small rural school district can do to assess its own programs and to discuss how to go about program assessment with the goal of helping schools become effective learning organizations. The district serves about 1,800…

This paper synthesizes information derived from five sources regarding issues in testing as they related to the American 2000; an education strategy and the national education goals. The focus is on proposed national tests. The issue of national testing extends far beyond testing itself because it touches on the structure of the U.S. educational…

This study assessed the learning environment resulting from a reformed first-year curriculum at the University of Michigan Medical School. First year medical students (N=435) provided demographic information and rated their academic and clinical preparation, aspects of the learning climate, and the level of their cognitive and behavioral skills…

Based on research and the work of groups engaged in mathematics and science education reform, this document describes the teaching, assessment, and professional development necessary for practitioners in the Pacific region to bring about mathematical and scientific literacy by improving the interaction among students, teachers, and content. The…

This report describes the attitudes of district school board members about the implementation of school reforms based on the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990 (KERA). Information on attitudes toward KERA was gathered by a mail-out, 11-page questionnaire sent to a random sample of 600 local school board members. The questionnaire asked for the…

The "DATAWave" is a biweekly publication of the Assessment Resource Office (ARO) at Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU). Its purpose is to inform the campus community and broader constituencies on assessment issues and practices at ENMU. The university's 10-year history of outcomes assessment is reflected in the topics of the 6 editions…

The Mid-South Educational Research Association (MSERA), organized in 1972, is a nonprofit organization with the purposes of encouraging quality educational research in the mid-South and promoting the application of the results of quality educational research in the schools. This volume contains abstracts of more than 300 discussion papers,…

Educational measurement is undergoing a revolution due to the rapid dissemination of information-processing technology. The recent growth in computing resources and their widespread dissemination in daily life have brought about irreversible changes in educational measurement. Recent developments in computerized measurement are summarized by…