As a result of social and economic trends of the past decade, public schools in industrialized nations now face severe political problems, manifested by declines in enrollment, budget, public confidence, and legitimacy of administrative authority. As a consequence, a fundamental reassessment of educational policy and management is underway in many…

To evaluate the writing skills of Colorado students under the Educational Quality Act of 1985 (commonly known as the 2 + 2 project), a study administered writing tasks to a statewide sample of third, sixth, ninth, and eleventh grade students in the spring of 1987. A narrative or story-telling writing task was administered to 2,000 grade 3 students…

Assessment projects at Missouri's institutions of higher education are summarized. At the request of the Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education, each institution prepared a description that included information on the number of students involved, expected outcomes, and specifically related expenditures. In Missouri, assessment is…

Three fiscal year 1987 deliverables due for the "Toward a National Educational Testing Network: Feasibility Study of Duplex Design" are presented. The study is concerned with implementation of statewide and interstate testing of student attainment. The report includes: (1) a duplex design (DD) review paper discussing the means by which…

As educational demands change, it is important to continually adjust the operation of educational organizations, and this must not be a haphazard adjustment. The effectiveness and fairness of the adjustment changes according to who is viewing it. It is a complex process with great potential for conflict from the vantage point of students, parents,…

Assessment of student learning and development has become a national issue. The status of local campus initiatives was considered in a national survey designed to determine (1) the extent to which assessment programs have been developed or are being developed, (2) the objectives and source of initiation, and (3) assessment techniques. Emphasis was…

Using data produced by a 1987 national survey of approximately 2,400 rural school board presidents, district superintendents, principals, and teachers, this report focuses on special concerns and strengths revealed by 351 respondents from rural, small schools in 7 Northeastern states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York,…

This handbook exists to assist the staff of a Springfield, Illinois school district in implementing the district assessment program and to assist other local school units in developing and assessing an implementation program. Chapter 1 presents information on the philosophical and pragmatic background of comprehensive assessment programs, with…

The Comprehensive Instructional Management System (CIMS) is a unified mathematics curriculum for grades K-7. The curriculum is cyclical in design, and reflects the most recent New York City and New York State guidelines. Utilizing the experience of classroom teachers, a teacher-designed curriculum was developed that includes a rich selection of…

Forty-six working papers for presentation at a research forum on public policy and philanthropy are presented. Thirteen sections include the following topics: (1) looking forward to the year 2000: public policy and philanthropy (e.g. "Rationales for Tax Exemption," by Harvey P. Dale); (2) shifting boundaries among the sectors (e.g. "The Shifting…

Though community colleges have long been committed to providing equal access and equal opportunity to all persons in their service districts, the need to meet the education and training needs of underserved racial and ethnic minorities in urban communities remains a significant challenge to educational leaders. Several books and reports issued…

The Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) is a statewide testing program in reading and mathematics (with other subject areas tested on a sampling basis). The MEAP tests are administered every fall to all fourth, seventh, and tenth graders. This Handbook was developed to assist educators in analyzing, using, and reporting MEAP test…

This is the third in a series of six monographs developed to help local educators use and report Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) test results. These results provide reliable, objective information on the status of basic skills education useful in reviewing and revising the curriculum and instructional program. This review requires…

Intended for and developed by teachers, this collection of papers offers suggestions, activities, resources, and strategies to be used in the assessment of reading, language, and listening--all adapted from the Ontario Assessment Instrument Pool. The papers in the reading section deal with how a student's general performance trend can be helpful…

Together in one volume are the essential points of nine national education reports that are most often referred to and discussed, plus a review of a report concerning vocational education. Chapters present and synthesize the major findings and recommendations of the national reports, according to the area of focus--goals and instruction, for…