This document is designed to help local and state educators improve their vocational education accountability systems, as mandated by the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Act of 1990. The handbook is organized in three parts. Part I focuses on measuring the success of programs serving students who are members of special…

Over the years, criticism of public education has given rise to reform and renewal. This paper describes what is right with education. The following positive developments have occurred within the last 2 decades: (1) increased student enrollment and retention; (2) improved literacy; (3) improved student performance on standardized tests; (4) a rise…

In the midst of national education reform and in line with efforts to describe national standards for school mathematics, Texas is taking an aggressive role in reforming mathematics in the public schools. Ways that Texas schools, the Texas Education Agency, and the State Board of Education are addressing the dramatically changing needs of…

In accordance with Public Law 99-457 Part H, Title I Handicapped Infants and Toddlers, the states are required to provide delayed infants and toddlers with multidisciplinary assessment, case management assistance, services, and family outcomes. Public Law 101-476, The Individuals With Disabilities Act, emphasizes changes that increase educational…

The traditional concept of validity divides it into three separate types; content, criterion, and construct validities. This view is fragmented and incomplete, failing to take into account evidence of the value implications of score meaning as a basis for action and of the social consequences of score use. The new unified concept of validity…

In contrast to multiple choice, alternative modes of assessment afford varying degrees of openness in the allowable responses. Prominent among the alternatives is the assessment of performance, sometimes in its own right where the issue is the quality of the particular performance per se, but more often as a vehicle for the assessment of…

In 1991 the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) released a report interpreting the achievement of U.S. students in mathematics on the 1990 National Assessment of Educational Progress in terms of a set of performance standards. The NAGB had been designing and implementing an approach to defining basic, proficient, and advanced levels of…

The United States educational system is not meeting the increasing demand for highly skilled workers required in the international marketplace. While local, state, and federal governments spend $221 billion on public elementary and secondary education, only a small percentage of the nation's students have adequate reasoning and problem-solving…

The development and implementation of Kentucky's Program for Educationally Deficient School Districts is examined in this case study. Implemented in 1987, the program required districts to meet certain performance, planning, and reporting criteria. Districts failing to comply could be placed in categories of noncompliance. Data were derived from…

Findings of a study that evaluated the Spencerport, New York, "More Effective Schools/Teaching Project" and examined the project's validation process are presented in this paper. The program model was based on change at the individual school level, administrator/staff collegiality, comprehensive interventions based on school culture, and…

A goal of the Colorado administrator survey is to provide Colorado institutions of higher education and the state board of education with information for the continued improvement of administrator education programs. Of 67 participants, 42 surveys were used. Respondents made assessments concerning major areas of their preparation programs. Major…

Although school accreditation has a long history in the United States, relatively few elementary schools have sought and attained regional accreditation status. This paper examines the issues in regional accreditation for elementary schools with a focus on the process and benefits to the individual school. Steps in the process include self-study,…

State assessment directors and State science supervisors discussed alternative methods for assessing student learning in science at a conference. The conference had two objectives: (1) to increase the knowledge of state science supervisors and assessment directors of recent experience at international, national, and state levels with alternative…

An overview is given of the available statistical theory and software for analyzing hierarchically nested data. Programs are evaluated, and general techniques are proposed to analyze data from several domains. This research is part of a larger project to evaluate elementary education in the Netherlands. The models discussed are the random…

This theme issue of "The Docket" is devoted to national standards and their effects on education reform. National standards may provide the first real opportunity for schools to address the issues of student assessment and achievement. As the touchstone for educational equity, they may be the first real opportunity for teachers to…