A community school director discusses four major criticisms of the use of performance objectives in evaluating community education programs. (JG)

Evaluation of college and university teaching is considered in the context of growing demands for accountability oof educational institutions and particular roles of faculty in achieving goals for which these institutions are believed to be accountable. Three approaches to evaluation of teaching in higher education are reviewed. (Editor/PG)

A group of external consultants conducted a review of the political science programs at the institutions within the state university system of Florida and made recommendations based on their findings. Their research focused on three questions: (1) How well does the department integrate itself into the university's mission? (2) How well does the…

An initial review of philosophy and religious studies programs in the state university system of Florida was conducted in 1983-84. This is a report of the five year follow-up review conducted to assess the progress made in response to the original recommendations and to report on current program status. A systemwide overview with recommendations…

Using a qualitative research methodology, known as the Delphi Method, an interactive panel of experts was convened to work toward a consensus on the role of critical thinking (CT) in educational assessment and instruction. In Delphi research, experts participate in several rounds of questions that require thoughtful and detailed responses.…

The Joint Dissemination Review Panel (JDRP), part of the U.S. Department of Education, is one of the most important federal mechanisms for recognizing quality in education. Although it has reviewed close to 700 projects in its 15-year history, the JDRP is still not widely known in the field of evaluation. This paper analyzes the JDRP process and…

A study of the relative impact of three different methods for assessing school needs failed to find significant differences in those methods' effects on school improvement efforts. Questionnaires were sent to 148 schools in six states: Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Michigan, and Pennsylvania; 41 schools participated in the study. Two…

Research on the assessment of naturalistic inquiries is reviewed, and criteria for assessment are outlined. Criteria reviewed include early foundational and non-foundational criteria, trustworthiness criteria, axiomatic criteria, rhetorical criteria, action criteria, and application/transferability criteria. Case studies that are reports of…

Contributing to the debate on the nature of the reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act, this report discusses three proposals that would establish standards of performance for vocational education and analyzes experiences from performance standards implemented as part of other social and educational programs, such as the…

The results of a study developing and testing a socially relevant model for assessing organizational effectiveness in developing countries are presented. Focus is on assessing the Dominican Republic. The objectives of the study were: to select and test theoretically sound effectiveness criteria which account for the type of organization and the…

This first interim report of the National Assessment of Vocational Education is intended to provide Congress with information that has emerged from some of the research conducted to date and to describe all the research projects underway. The report has two parts. The first part discusses trends in vocational education and issues concerning…

The state of the "Standards for Evaluation of Educational Programs, Projects, and Materials" is discussed. The standards were designed by a 17-member Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation to insure an ethical approach to the evaluation of educational programs and personnel. There are four major categories of standards.…

The Office of Desegregation of the Little Rock, Arkansas, Public School District was given the responsibility for developing an instrument to evaluate the implementation of educational equity in the district pursuant to federal court desegregation mandates. Office of Desegregation personnel invited in Center for Academic Excellence staff of the…

This assessment of American education, carried out at the President's request, comes on the fifth anniversary of "A Nation at Risk," the landmark 1983 study of the National Commission on Excellence in Education. In this report, the Secretary of Education evaluates the progress of education reform during the last five years and sets forth…