A fifth-grade teacher researched the experts, observed master teachers, and experimented to find out what worked best for her and her students as she made the transition from the basal to the process approach to teaching the language arts. Taking courses and meeting with others helped support her decision to change. During the process of change,…

This report is designed to provide educators who are embarking on the Quality Performance Accreditation (QPA) process with an overview of assessment options, a discussion about the alignment of assessment and curriculum, and a compendium of resources for further investigation into the concept of student assessment. The QPA process recognizes that…

Self-evaluation is becoming an essential component of both formative and summative teacher evaluation systems. This paper defines self-evaluation as the process of judging one's own performance for purposes of self-improvement. Teachers use both formal and informal methods to assess their students' classroom performance; however, when they attend…

A preliminary study of job-related communications skills in British Columbia sawmills investigated the extent of agreement between reading grade levels of written workplace materials and reading comprehension levels of employees expected to read them. In 1990, 227 employees in 8 sawmills were interviewed with a 52-item structured interview, a…

An assessment was made of the staff structures of Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) programs, recommended staff backgrounds, current staff backgrounds, and staff development measures. Recommendations were made on how staff development could be improved. Data for the study were gathered through a survey of all state JTPA directors and a random…

The influences of student-level and campus factors on the academic performance of intercollegiate athletes were studied. Approximately 80 full-time student athletes were selected from each of 42 institutions in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Data were drawn from the 1987-88 National Study of Intercollegiate…

In 1989, a national survey sponsored by the National Center for Research in Vocational Education was conducted of a random sample of 246 public community, technical, and junior colleges to ascertain the extent of the colleges' economic development activities outside of the regular curriculum, such as customized training, short-term vocational…

Problems with performance assessment (PA) and multiple-choice tests (MCTs) are outlined, with reference to the literature on accountability. PA for individual teachers who should integrate their assessments with their instruction; PA as a supplement to more traditional examinations for licensure decisions; and some limited, experimental tryouts of…

Based on Fiedler's Contingency Model of Leadership Effectiveness and Leader-Match program, this study's hypothesis is that experienced school principals increase their effectiveness by changing key organizational variables to suit their personal leadership styles. Following V. D. McNamara's application of Fiedler's contingency model in a study of…

A theory of how people learn certain procedural skills is presented. It is based on the idea that the teaching and learning that goes on in a classroom is like an ordinary conversation. The speaker (teacher) compresses a non-linear knowledge structure (the target procedure) into a linear sequence of utterances (lessons). The listener (student)…

In response to a 1982 request by the U.S. Department of the Army, the National Research Council's Board on Army Science and Technology established the Committee on Army Manpower to investigate the professional environments and use of civilian and military scientists/engineers in Army laboratories. The committee's primary objective was to identify…

Approaches to faculty evaluation to assist departmental chairs who have no formal background in personnel administration are discussed. Stages in the development and maintenance of performance appraisals for instructors are considered, including a written position guide, a performance planning conference, a performance appraisal procedure, a…

The first (exploratory) phase of the Learning in Science Project focused on science teaching/learning in the Form 1 to 4 level (ages 10 to 14) and sought to identify problems and difficulties in several areas. Provided in this paper are comments obtained during structured interviews (from students, ex-students, teachers, headmasters, science…

Whether there is a difference in the performance of public school and private school students on the advanced placement (AP) tests of the College Board was studied. The sample was composed of 216 public high schools, 32 Catholic high schools, and 24 other private high schools in Northern California, all of which gave their students at least five…

A descriptive study outlined the approaches used in the assessment of student performance in technical/practical subjects (e.g., agriculture, home economics, and woodworking) in Zimbabwe secondary schools. Eight schools participated in the study. Data on techniques used to evaluate student performance were collected by questionnaires received from…