In accordance with the European processes of integrated and homogeneous education, the paper presents the essential viewpoints and questions covering the establishment and development of "distance learning" (DL) in Republic of Croatia. It starts from the advantages of distance learning versus traditional education taking into account…

A study was conducted to investigate the stability of rater severity over an extended rating period. Multifaceted Rasch analysis was applied to ratings of writing performances of 8,285 primary school (elementary) students. Each performance was rated on two performance dimensions by two trained raters over a period of 7 rating days. Performances…

During the years 1993-96, there has existed an active discussion group entitled "Using Open-Ended Problems in Mathematics" as a part of the scientific program of the Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME) conference. This report contains revised versions of presentations given in the discussion group. Since the PME is an international…

This paper summarizes main findings from an investigation of the familiarity and importance of assessment practices from the perspectives of Mexican teachers, counselors, and administrators. A survey that listed 74 practices, sampling 7 areas of competencies, was assembled from the Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education, the Standards for…

This document is a report on the state of applied arts and technology colleges in Ontario, Canada. It includes a message from the Chair of the Association as well as the Chair of the Committee of Presidents, and a report from the Executive Director of the Association. In the advocacy and communications arena, chief among the successes for the year…

The first step in a multi-stage approach to assessment of the Department of Speech Communication and Theatre Art at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, this study assessed the department's introductory course. Data came from cognitive pre/post tests, self reports, and peer evaluations. Results indicated that: (1) students scored higher on…

This paper presents a history of California's offices of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, State Board of Education, and Secretary of Education by tracing the creation and development of these respective authorities. It discusses the origins of these offices, from the drafting of California's first constitution through the present day, and…

This report describes a computer tool used by the state of New York to assess student performance in elementary and secondary grades. Based on the premise that every assessment is a system of interacting elements, the tool examines students on six dimensions: vision, prompt, coaching context, performance, standards, and reflection. Vision, which…

This manual is designed as a technical resource to explain the accountability system used by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to evaluate the performance of public school districts and campuses. The system integrates district accreditation status; campus ratings; district and campus recognition for high performance and performance improvement; and…

This program review manual provides a common or minimum set of review criteria and standard reporting procedures for colleges to use in conducting a self study to determine how well programs are functioning in relation to stated objectives, the mission and resources of the college and district, and the needs of the students and the community…

This survey of students at Cabrillo College contains feedback on a variety of subject matters ranging from quality of general educational courses, cultural diversity, fairness of grading and preparation for further study or for the workplace. Responses were subjected to statistical significance testing and compared with results from the 1999…

This document discusses the effort to find groupings for the enrollment change in California's community colleges. The new groupings can be utilized by community college strategic planners to improve programs and services based on exploring and analyzing various enrollment shifts. The information can also be used to make enrollment projections for…

"Accountability" and "assessment" are terms that are frequently misused and misunderstood. This document is intended to stimulate conversations about assessment of and accountability for student learning, to raise assessment issues that may prevent improved student learning, and raise awareness about the relationship between assessment and…

The purpose of this paper is twofold: to review appropriate assessment techniques in prekindergarten through grade 3 settings and to serve as a catalyst for further discussion and work on the topic of developmentally appropriate accountability assessment. The discussion is based on the thesis that developmentally appropriate assessment and…

This report on best practices in outcomes assessment contains two parts: "Institutional Resources" and "Other Resources." Commission staff and consultants have selected several exemplary comprehensive outcomes assessment plans or components of plans from institutions that recently completed their decennial evaluations and from…