Explores how current concerns about quality assurance, standards, benchmarks, and performance indicators in higher education apply to the assessment of doctoral/research degrees in Britain, and in particular to the viva voce (oral) examination. (EV)

Examines the recommendations of the Task Group on Assessment and Testing (TGAT) report, particularly emphasizing the sections on teacher assessment. Reflects upon the actual recommendations contained in the report. Finds the report not to be as progressive as was previously thought. (KO)

Offers a collection and analysis of anecdotal records as a way to evaluate student progress, inform instructional planning, and generate new assessment questions. Provides information about techniques for collecting and analyzing anecdotal records. (MG)

Contends that post-Fordist theories are unable to offer a clear perspective on educational change because they collapse general and specific narratives, making them prone to overuse. Raises issues of identifying structures that link economic and educational realms. Concludes that educational theorizing needs to be chaperoned by a policy analysis…

Uses an analysis based on the work of M. Foucault to explore the nature and practice of disciplinary power in the context of higher education in the United Kingdom (U.K.), focusing on the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) undertaken by the U.K. Higher Education Funding Councils. The lack of impact of the RAE is examined. (SLD)

Describes methods for assessing graduate students: precourse, incourse, postcourse, and long-term assessment as well as the educational process that students experience. Addresses comprehensive program evaluation via peer review. Lists eight suggested readings and 12 related Web sites. (SK)

Critical questions should be asked about educational evaluation so that it can contribute to development and change. Self- and stakeholder evaluation provide important data. Since the goal of evaluation is to define the value of what is assessed, it is important to use different lenses and methods. (SK)

Summarizes current assessment practices in statistics education, distinguishing between assessment for different purposes and assessment at different educational levels. Highlights recent assessment methods being used for different purposes including individual student evaluation, large-scale group evaluation, and evaluation as a research tool.…

Discusses some practical issues in linking educational assessments, focusing on the importance of clarity of purpose when assessments are linked. Also stresses the importance of the design used to collect data for linking. Uses linking studies from a variety of situations to illustrate these points. (SLD)

Describes findings from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education's "Measuring Up 2000: The State-by-State Report Card for Higher Education," which grades all 50 states' higher education systems. Five categories of performance were evaluated, compared, and graded for each state: preparation, participation, affordability,…

Describes "Measuring Up 2000: The State-by-State Report Card for Higher Education," a report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education designed to evaluate and compare how each of the 50 states performs in providing its residents with post-secondary education. Discusses its main finding of unequal opportunity between states.…

Describes the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), which annually assesses the extent to which students at four-year colleges and universities are participating in educational practices strongly associated with high levels of learning and personal development. Rather than focusing on the institution's resources, the basis of most school…

Reports that the Assessment of Catholic Religious Education (ACRE), which looks at content and technical properties of Catholic education, is being revised. Provides a projected time line for the revision process and states that the new version will be available for the 2001-2002 school year. Asserts that schools need to be ready to make the…

Each Rasch (Masters) partial credit item can be expressed as the sum of independent Rasch binary items and Rasch (or Masters) indecomposable trinary items. If each trinary item is then expressed as the sum of two binary items, the binary items are positively dependent and cannot be both Rasch types. (SLD)

Discusses the hazards of prematurely assessing the result of middle school reforms, noting the phenomenon of the "J-curve" effect that models a decline during an adjustment period before showing a long-term improvement. Considers reasons for this initial decline. (JPB)