The purpose and results of the state testing programs in Utah are described. At present there are seven major assessment programs conducted under the leadership of the Utah State Office of Education. These include the three components of the Core Assessment Program: Criterion-Referenced Tests and item pools, Writing Assessment, and the new…

The Odyssey Project is named for the Greek hero, Odysseus, who for 10 years, sought the purpose of life. The Project is based on the philosophy that a new generation of American schools must be viewed as a lifelong quest for excellence. The project is one of 11 designs for schools funded by the New American Schools Development Corporation, a…

Age-related changes in functional ability and work attitude affect job performance, but many variables affect the extent and timing of change for different older workers. Declines due to age occur in sensory/perceptual processes; strength, speed and accuracy of movement, and balance; and cognitive processes. Individuals can compensate for some…

The goals, principles, and methods of an individualized educational assessment are described as implemented in a 12th-grade science assessment instrument undergoing field trials in Ohio. Pilot tests were planned for December 1990 and March and April 1991. The assessment design incorporates the duplex design of R. D. Bock and R. J. Mislevy (1988)…

This health care assistant guide addresses the psychomotor, cognitive, and affective learning domains. Thirteen units in the guide cover the following subjects: (1) introducing health care workers and facilities; (2) assisting with examinations; (3) assisting with diagnostic tests; (4) providing health information and performing outreach…

This special project, a fifth year review of an institution under current accrediting commission policy, was undertaken at College of the Siskiyous (COS). Its purpose was to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the institution and its programs and services through surveys of community residents, staff members, and former and current students. A…

Educational seduction, in which a charismatic, entertaining instructor obtains favorable student ratings while presenting insufficient lecture content, threatens the validity of student ratings and teaching effectiveness research. To examine the effects of one educational seduction variable, instructor expressiveness, on student achievement…

An annotated bibliography, compiled as part of a 1-year project to look at factors affecting the participation and performance of Minnesota Indian girls in mathematics, contains 64 entries, dating between 1967 and 1982. Because Indian Students in general leave the public schools underprepared for jobs, and because the plight of Indian women is…

In the San Jose/Evergreen Community College District, course and basic skills prerequisites have been established for all courses. Students who do not have a record of having completed these prerequisites cannot enroll unless they have been assessed by a counselor, have had their prerequisites verified in alternate ways, and have been granted…

The program addresses three areas of concern at Western Michigan University: student attrition, minority student participation, and educational relevance. The project was based on previous work suggesting that students can more nearly achieve their optimum performance when programs provide clear-cut objectives, frequent accountability, and…

In 1990, a study was conducted to validate factors which relate to the persistence or retention of students enrolled in two-year college occupational programs, with a particular focus on minority students. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey of 731 students and 55 faculty members at 5 colleges in New York. In addition to the survey,…

Supplemental Course Instruction (SCI) at Olivet Nazarene University is described as a program in which a high achieving student retakes a course successfully completed in order to model desired behaviors for other students. The SCI Leader demonstrates good study skills and organizes small group study sessions. This study examines the effectiveness…

This report describes four components of an instructional management program that was implemented by a large public school system in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1981. The four program components are the following: (1) A districtwide uniform curriculum; a districtwide standardized criterion referenced testing program; a performance-based student…

This paper analyzes the effectiveness of teacher selection practices with reference to literature sources and recommends experimentation with a structured interview approach based on life style themes. The first variable in selection involves identification of characteristics of effective teachers. Some agreement concerning particular teaching…

This study addresses four questions: (1) What types of performance appraisal policy for educational staff have been adopted by Ontario school boards? (2) To what extent have these policies been implemented in practice? (3) What types of appraisal policies are most effective? and (4) What processes have school boards used to develop and implement…