Discusses reasons why the use of student evaluations of their teachers has failed to achieve the intended purpose. (MLH)

The issue covered in this paper involves accountability, an issue that has been discussed almost entirely in terms of adequate instruments for measuring learning and teacher effectiveness, rather than in terms of philosophical assumptions. (JD)

Methods by which annual evaluation and review of departments at Michigan State has moved from a limited exercise to a valued administrative tool are described. A model is used that has as its basic unit the academic department and that is an operational system for departmental review and resource allocation in a complex university. (Editor/LBH)

It is suggested that graduate schools continue to disregard the characteristics and needs of their students, and that reform in the direction of flexibility is needed. Proposals are made regarding self-determination of graduate program, student course initiation, student involvement in planning course structure, evaluation of the educational…

Presented is a discussion of the need to update and diversify university educational systems to improve their effectiveness. Various learning alternatives are discussed. (SL)

Beginning in 1998, a state program called Reaching for Results began focusing on raising achievement for all Louisiana students. This program includes two different approaches: (1) teaching strategies that support students in meeting educational outcomes that will prepare them for life after school; and (2) assessments that evaluate student…

Louisiana Educational Assessment Program for the 21st Century (LEAP 21) is an integral part of the Louisiana school and district accountability system passed by the state legislature and signed into law in 1997. The primary purposes of the accountability system are to raise expectations for achievement for all Louisiana public school students and…

This report presents the national and state results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessment in reading, and compares them to results from assessments in 2003 and in the first year data were available, usually 1992. In 2005, nationally representive samples of more than 165,000 fourth-grade and 159,000 eighth-grade…

There is cause for concern about the future of public higher education. The unease is driven in part by the recent cuts in state funding of most public universities and by the harsh reality that today's strains are merely a continuation of a three-decade-long trend driven by systemic tensions in state budgets. Arguably of greater moment is the…

Recently NWEA completed a project to connect the scale of the Maryland School Assessment (MSA) with NWEA's RIT scale. One large school system participated in the study, using test information from a group of over 24,000 students enrolled in third, fourth and fifth grade who took both the MSA and NWEA reading tests in the spring of 2005.…

The 10 papers in this book attempt to provide some creative approaches to assessment of individuals with disabilities as they transition from the school experience to the adult world. The papers are: (1) "For Whom the Test Is Scored: Assessments, the School Experience, and More" (Douglas Fisher and Caren L. Sax); (2) "Person-Centered Planning:…

The reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1997 clarified that special education was to fully participate in educational accountability systems related to standards-based reform. Special education students could participate in the general assessment, with or without accommodations, or in an alternate…

Florida's Performance Assessment System for Students with Disabilities (PASSD) is a response to growing demands that students with disabilities be included in school evaluation and accountability efforts through alternate assessments. Chapter 1 introduces PASSD and provides background information. It notes that the focus of PASSD is noncategorical…

U.S. student scores in science compare unfavorably with those of other nations, and other standardized test scores by U.S. students are also comparatively lower. Polls of parents indicate dissatisfaction with U.S. education. College teachers and employers feel that high school graduates are weak in skills. This document offers negative perceptions…

The use of the Scholastic Assessment Tests (formerly the Scholastic Aptitude Test) (SAT) for assessment in the Georgia university system was studied. The study involved more than 243,000 students entering the University of Georgia over a 25-year period and used at least 883 different regression equations to correlate high school average (HSA), SAT…