In 1992 the government of New South Wales, Australia, announced its commitment to a program of quality-assurance reviews of schools. The New South Wales school system plans to implement a quality-assurance system, which is process-based on the following: a primary focus on student learning, clear and shared direction, focused involvement and…

This guide provides advice and recommendations on designing a system of external quality assessment (EQA) for systems and institutions of higher education. Based on a Dutch national model, key features of the suggested system include: ownership by higher education institutions themselves although sanctioned by the government; primary aims of…

The use of technology in the classroom and in support of educational administration are essential to the achievement of excellence by Oregon schools in the 21st Century. This document is the outcome of a study conducted by the Oregon Department of Education to evaluate the current information and communication needs within the Department. The…

The long-range research and development needs for integrating assessment into instruction are discussed, and how ready the educational community is to begin making blueprints for this integration is explored. This paper addresses the problems of learning progress, diagnostic assessment, the design and implementation of performance tasks, and…

On October 20, 1994, President Clinton signed into law the Improving America's Schools Act of 1994. This statute contains amendments to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, including the reauthorization of Chapter 1, as the newly entitled Title I. The reauthorized Title I drastically restructures the direction of former remedial…

Most plans for school reform depend on agencies of the federal government, states, and districts for codifying, assessing, and communicating standards. This paper outlines the appropriate responsibilities and associated language for the major educational agencies involved in standards and assessment. It proposes that educational assessment should…

Since 1992, the New American Schools Development Corporation (NASDC) has supported nine teams that developed designs for high-performance schools. This workbook is a guide developed for NASDC and for school-based reformers. It presents a framework for student and program evaluation called progress assessment. Chapters 2 through 5 provide…

The growing demand for colleges and universities to be accountable to their publics and the recognition that assessment is of little value without a systematic planning effort have led many institutions to turn to the concept of Total Quality Management (TQM). This pamphlet discusses the process of adapting TQM to a typical community college, a…

Criticisms of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) have included speculation that the listening test places too much burden on short-term memory as compared with comprehension, that a knowledge of reading is required to respond successfully, and that many items appear to require mere recall and matching rather than higher-order…

This pamphlet describes the bases of the educational outcomes and indicators for students (including students with disabilities) developed by the National Center on Educational Outcomes. The importance of developing an outcomes and indicators model with a rationale, wording, and appearance that support a philosophy in which educational outcomes…

This booklet provides a brief description of secondary education in Switzerland. The publication is part of a series that seeks to make the public aware of the education systems and traditions in all signatory states to the European Cultural Convention and to outline the essential problems these systems presently are facing. This short booklet…

This booklet provides a brief description of secondary education in Austria. The publication is part of a series that seeks to make the public aware of the education systems and traditions in all signatory states to the European Cultural Convention and to outline the essential problems these systems presently are facing. This short booklet…

This booklet provides a brief description of secondary education in Germany. The publication is part of a series that seeks to make the public aware of the education systems and traditions in all signatory states to the European Cultural Convention and to outline the essential problems these systems presently are facing. This short booklet…

This booklet provides a brief description of secondary education in the Flemish Community of Belgium. The publication is part of a series that seeks to make the public aware of the education systems and traditions in all signatory states to the European Cultural Convention and to outline the essential problems these systems presently are facing.…

As constructed-response items become an integral part of educational assessments, setting student performance standards on constructed-response items has become an important issue. Two standard-setting methods, one used for setting standards on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in reading in grade 8 and the other used to set…