This article discusses methods and benefits of soliciting parental advice with regard to the development of teacher education programs. (HMD)

High tuition charges, poor job opportunities for graduates, and the loss of the sacral image of higher education have contributed to the current crisis. Higher education can survive with business management models but, according to the author, mediocrity is the largest problem. (DE)

The Michigan Elementary Geography Test (MEGT) was completed by 1,689 fifth-grade students in 64 classrooms from 20 school districts in Michigan. This article provides representative questions from MEGT and presents data regarding student performance on these questions. (Author/RM)

In 1985, Washington State Legislature passed a law mandating that each Washington school conduct a self-study by 1990-91 and every seven years thereafter. The intent is to enhance education through school improvement. This manual illustrates a model self-study process and provides a "tool kit" of implementation aids. The first section…

Educational reform commissions and their reports can be traced back to the massive expansion of public schools during the 1890s. The reports of reform commissions over the years follow the same format: problems are identified, experts are selected to examine them, and improvement proposals are recommended. This report examines 14 national studies…

The primary goal of the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) is to describe the types and levels of literacy skills possessed by adults living in the United States and the distribution of these skills across major subgroups of the population. To conduct the NALS, 175 trained interviewers employed by the Educational Testing Service will interview…

Results of a study of the costs of examinations in further higher education (FHE) in England and Wales are presented, based on a survey of 12 FHE institutions, 6 local education authorities (LEAs), and a number of examining bodies. After a brief review of the system of assessment in England and Wales, attention is directed to the range of fees…

This brief article presents some of the facts and figures learned from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). NAEP is an on-going nationwide survey to determine what America's students are learning. It is conducted by the Educational Testing Service, and, at the time this article was written, was funded by the National Institute…

Reasons for the glaring gaps in recommendations for humanities and social science emphasis in the National Commission on Excellence in Education report, "A Nation At Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform," are examined; and remedies are proposed. It is important to recognize that only 4 of the Commission members represented the…

A coordinated system of assessment of principals, schools, and teachers can provide a broad base of informative data that can be used to enhance the instructional leadership provided by principals. Under its Education Improvement Act of 1984, South Carolina is incorporating eight elements into its coordinated assessment system: (1) assessment of…

The proceedings from this colloquium on the assessment of outcomes of preschool programs include presentations on (1) what should be assessed; (2) how social and emotional development can be assessed; and (3) how language intervention outcomes are to be assessed. Notes regarding the major ideas expressed during the discussions are also included.…

Most organizational development (OD) projects in schools are never reported in the literature. This paper discusses benefits, outcomes, and success factors disclosed by the first large-scale quantitative survey of OD in schoools conducted by Fullan, Miles, and Taylor in 1978. The paper also explores other relevant studies published through early…

This paper details the pathway of development of early intervention program evaluation research along with the often-enumerated problems with research results. Early intervention evaluation, which was initiated in 1969, involves those organized efforts designed to remediate and/or reconcile developmental disabilities in young children up to the…

The aim of the conference reported in this document was to agree on a small set of education indicators that the 22 participating countries could jointly pursue over the next 5 years. Participants discussed methodological problems involved in making cross-national comparisons of outcomes of education; summarized the statistical activities underway…