This document, the fifth of five volumes that comprise the final report of the National Assessment of Vocational Education focuses on funding and administration issues related to the Perkins Act. Chapter 1 explores issues in the within-state allocation of federal vocational education resources. It presents findings about actual allocation…

The discussion of long- versus short-term effects is usually absent when it comes to the choice of training technology. Short-term effects become the major criteria for the choice: training resolves a concrete problem. An important reason for thinking about long-term effects of training and training strategies is the ultimate objective of training…

Alternative assessments, also called authentic or performance assessments, have first the common notion of a meaningful performance or product. The use of such alternatives with students belonging to nondominant language and cultural groups is of interest because of the hope that this type of assessment can show what these students can really do…

The 14 chapters of this book focus on the technical advances, advances in applied settings, and emerging topics in the testing field. Part 1 discusses methodological advances, Part 2 considers developments in applied settings, and Part 3 reviews emerging topics in the field of testing. Part 1 papers include: (1) "Advances in…

In September 1990, the Commission on Work Force Excellence was established to increase Mississippi's economic competitiveness and improve worker opportunities. The commission sponsored an evaluation of the diverse enterprise of the state's secondary and postsecondary vocational education system. Eight findings resulted from the study. First, the…

This paper describes a study of native and transfer students conducted at an urban doctoral-granting university (Southern University, Louisiana) to determine the comparability of commonly numbered coursework between a two-year college and the university within the same state system of higher education. Using a cluster analytic model, the study…

The National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) is responsible for improving the form and use of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The NAGB is beginning to define achievement levels to state clearly what students should know and be able to do at key grades in school. This report creates a policy framework, definitions, and…

Results of a 1980-81 survey of the perception of the Brazosport (Freeport, Texas) community regarding the Brazosport Independent School District (BISD) are summarized. The survey instrument consisted of: (1) a cover letter from the superintendent; (2) Part I--a series of multiple-choice questions on various education issues in Brazosport; (3) Part…

This report of a British government task force investigates the educational and policy needs for public school native language instruction for ethnic minority groups in the United Kingdom. An introductory section examines the educational policy context, rationale for minority language instruction, needs assessment and recommendations for action,…

Results of the seventh year of testing by the Pupil Assessment Program of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction are presented. In 1982, objective-referenced tests in science, mathematics, and geometry were given to a sample of Wisconsin's public school students in grades 4, 8, 11, and 12. Students were also given the Comprehensive Tests…

This handbook is designed to assist training developers and evaluators in structuring their collection of feedback data. Addressed first are various methods for collecting feedback data, including informal feedback, existing unit performance records, questionnaires, structured interviews, systematic observation, and testing. The next chapter, a…

Selected papers presented at a conference on the contributions of and to the new immigrants in North America include: "Realizing the Dream" (Len Fox); "From Gattegno to Freire: Musings on a Decade Gone By" (James A. Lydon); "The New Immigrants" (Doris W. Koo); "Haitian Immigrants in the U.S.: Migration and…

The North York Board of Education's (Ontario) Quality Assurance process ensures planning for and assessment of accomplishment at every level in the system. This report, for 1988-89, is the second Quality Assurance report to be presented to the Board. Twenty elementary schools participated in the school review portion of the study, which focused on…

Postsecondary instructional dynamics is a complex process in which inputs (student characteristics and expectations, resources, and faculty characteristics and preparation) are converted through the educational process (instruction strategies, models, and techniques as well as supportive services) into outputs (outcomes and benefits of instruction…

To weigh the negative effects of "primerese" against its supposedly improved readability, a study compared the reading of controlled basal stories with that of the same stories minimally rewritten into more natural language. Participants were 64 white, lower middle class first grade students selected from five classrooms (all with basal…