The California Art Education Association conducted a portfolio assessment pilot project to provide visual arts educators with examples of classroom practice to serve as a foundation for further development of performance/portfolio assessment. Key issues addressed during this project included the purposes of assessment portfolios for students and…

During 1991, the Department of Education of the Northwest Territories took a number of important steps toward its goal of ensuring the school system reflects the cultures of the people it serves. This report expands on the initiatives the department undertook in 1991. Following introductory statements by the minister and deputy minister,…

This report reviews the concept and means of assessing progress toward meeting Goal 5 of the National Goals Panel which aims at universal adult literacy and knowledge and skills needed to compete in the global economy and exercise citizenship. The goal's specific objectives focus on the relationship between work and education and outcomes,…

The background and purpose of course assessment are examined. The paper includes suggestions for classroom instructors in setting up formative assessment plans based on qualitative research. Focus is on the interview technique. It is discussed as a practical source for evaluating what actually takes place during a course, including the appraisal…

The beliefs and values of teachers and administrators in one school district regarding their desire and capacity to change and on helping school leaders plan the change process were evaluated, in light of the America 2000/Nebraska 2000 community school campaign. This report summarizes the evaluation focus, procedures for data collection and…

This document describes performance assessments (PAs) (alternative assessments or authentic assessments). PA requires students to perform a task rather than select an answer on a ready-made list. Some methods that have been used successfully to assess performance include open-ended or extended response exercises, extended tasks, and portfolios.…

This report presents an evaluation of the Advanced Courses Development Programme (ACDP) that was set up to rationalize the provision of advanced courses in Scottish further education colleges and central institutions. The ACDP is based on students achieving a certain level of competence in a vocational subject defined in terms of outcome and…

This report presents the results of a workshop, held in Arlington, Virginia, on November 17-19, 1991, to discuss with the larger community the National Center for Education Statistics' (NCES) effort to develop strategies for assessing college student learning in support of National Education Goal Five, Objective Five which supports a substantial…

This self-study instrument is designed to review graduate programs in health education and health promotion. Information collected can be utilized to assist administrators and faculty to properly assess the status of their specific programs (school health, community health, public health, health promotion/worksite health promotion, other) and…

This document is a combined version of two papers originally presented at a 1990 European seminar on quality in services to young children. The papers, which considered the definition of quality in child services and the topics of quality assurance and monitoring, respectively, were revised in the light of comments made during and after the…

This paper describes three non-traditional higher education outcomes assessment models and identifies common characteristics of successful models of this type. Institutions considering how to meet state, national, and accrediting agency mandates have two kinds of non-traditional approaches available: formative and summative assessment. Formative…

To achieve the goal of helping students acquire the pedagogical knowledge, skills, and dispositions required for continuous professional development as well as successful entry into the profession, the development of reflective inquiry and decision-making skills has emerged as the focus of a growing number of teacher education programs. This paper…

This guide to assessing engineering education in Sub-Saharan Africa consists of three sections, covering: (1) assessment of qualitative and quantitative needs; (2) assessment of the engineering education institution in developing countries; and (3) methods of forecasting demand for engineers; assessment of the efficiency of engineering training…

In preparation for a study of essay questions and other forms of open-ended exercises in the California Golden State Examination for biology, the functioning of open-ended biology items in another examination was explored. The Golden State Examination program offers honors credit to students who wish to qualify for admission to programs in…

Climate and culture are inherent in the life of every organization, including schools. They are difficult to define and even more difficult to change, yet any reform effort must address them first if it is to succeed. This report helps school leaders understand these crucial factors and measure their influences on the school. It offers various…