Summarizes findings from the annual survey of Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) graduates regarding their development of the general education skills and affective attributes outlined in the college mission (e.g., interpersonal growth, appreciation for diversity, etc.). The survey includes measures of mission effectiveness based on…

This address, given at the Association of Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology of Ontario (ACAATO) Conference in February 2002, focuses on the identity of the Ontario Community Colleges and if that identity has changed over time. The author concludes that community orientation has never been part of the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology…

In the past there were no substantial challenges to the idea that standardized, mass produced assessment would be universally beneficial. Culture was ignored or minimized as a factor in creating testing routines or in interpreting testing and assessment data. In recent years, challenges to this idea have arisen, but the primary pressure for the…

The purpose of this report is to examine aspects of oral reading performance--accuracy, rate, and fluency--that cannot be observed from results of the main NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) reading assessment. The results provided here are intended to inform educators and researchers about these three aspects of fourth-graders'…

In the 2002-2003 academic year, a series of roundtable discussions was conducted to explore uses of data from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) for the improvement of student learning. This paper reports on one roundtable, held in June 2003 in Seattle, Washington. Participants included campus officers responsible for student…

This booklet is a guide to the report on the "Measuring Up" study of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. "Measuring Up" provides a picture of state postsecondary policy and an overall picture of higher education in the states. The report can help states analyze their strengths and weaknesses and evaluate their progress…

An active area in psychometric research is coordinated task design and statistical analysis built around cognitive models. Compared with classical test theory and item response theory, there is often less information from observed data about the measurement-model parameters. On the other hand, there is more information from the grounding…

The social studies curriculum should be assessed continuously to bring in the latest research, trends, and recommendations of experts. A survey of teachers, administrators, parents, and other community members may be conducted to determine preferences for the curriculum. An effort should be made to decide what is in the curriculum and what should…

The Vermont Institute for Science, Math, and Technology (VISMT) and a team of Vermont educators have developed the Vermont Science Assessment in collaboration with CTB/McGraw-Hill. This assessment provides Vermont teachers and school officials with student performance data on scientific understanding as they implement Vermont's Framework of…

A Web-based survey of 25 experts in testing theory and large-scale assessment examined the utility of out-of-level testing for making decisions about students and schools. Survey respondents were given a series of scenarios and asked to judge the degree to which out-of-level testing would affect the reliability and validity of test scores within…

This "Almanac" provides an overview of the external quality review process, its practice and structure, its participating organizations and agencies, and its role in the self-regulation of higher education in the United States. It presents information about all the major participants in external quality review and documents the range and…

This digest discusses reform in U. S. higher education. There have been many reforms in higher education in the United States, and they have been well-documented. Two profiles of recent reform initiatives are offered. One is that of student assessment, a reform movement active since the 1980s that presses all colleges and universities to measure…

This paper from the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges is a chronological summary of the legislation and regulations adopted from 1987-1990, which govern basic skills instruction in the community colleges. The Seymour Campbell Matriculation Act of 1986 directs the Chancellor to develop a funding formula for matriculation, and…

This Critical Issue Bibliography (CRIB) Sheet focuses on assessment. Assessment has been a major trend in higher education over the last 10 years, with the nature of the literature changing significantly over the years. This annotated bibliography groups assessment resources into these categories: (1) general resources; (2) institutional…

A progress map describes the nature of development in an area of learning and thus serves as a frame of reference for monitoring individual growth. An essential feature of a progress map, which is an integral component of Developmental Assessment, is that it describes and illustrates developing competence. The first step in constructing a progress…