The assessment programs of Alberta Education (Canada) are described, and the principles that guide these programs are reviewed. Alberta is committed to authentic assessment in its three major assessment programs: (1) the Diploma Examinations Program for certification in specific courses at the end of high school; (2) the Achievement Testing…

This report presents a plan for an Educational Assessment and Accountability System for Hawaii. The purpose of this plan is to provide an analytical as well as a descriptive account of the condition of public education in Hawaii. It is meant to be a vehicle to provide the means by which educational outcomes can be examined in light of contextual…

Findings of the National Commission on Testing and Public Policy concerning problems in testing are reported. Recommendations are proposed for restructuring educational and employment testing to help people develop their talents and become more productive, and to help institutions become more productive, accountable, and just. Over a 3-year…

This paper explores the issue of "state policy" and the assessment process and how it can be applied to improving the teaching and learning process in undergraduate education. Three distinct policy questions are addressed: (1) how can assessment focus attention on what college graduates in a democratic society should know and be able to do? (2)…

Involving producing, analyzing, and using information, evaluation is the central discipline of the information age. Both traditional criteria for good evaluation and standards formulated in 1981 prescribe evaluations that are useful, practical, ethical, and accurate. The burning question in evaluation is the utilization of information for…

The Charlton pilot project was one of a number of trials undertaken throughout Australia to bring educational resources to isolated children. In this project, Telecom Australia provided seven small Victorian Higher School Certificate (H.S.C.) schools with two first prototype experimental devices: firstly, a small group terminal and secondly,…

A total of 201 provincial schools with greater than 10 native students were surveyed as part of the study on school programs for Alberta natives (Metis, and status and non-status Indians). Based on the definition of "program" provided to staff at the schools, 58 schools indicated that they had at least 1 native program. Listed by school,…

This document is the complete Indicators of Quality Schools assessment instrument. The instrument is a series of checklists of school practices found in schools known to have an effective instructional program organized under 12 topic areas (with subitems listed under each area): curricular congruence; assessment; leadership of the principal; high…

An approach to integrating formative evaluation into externally-mandated program reviews in higher education is suggested. Externally-mandated reviews are generally concerned with the summative evaluation of academic programs. The first step is to classify the mandated program review criteria using a two-dimensional model. This model is based on a…

This submission to the Australian Senate Standing Committee on Education and the Arts focuses on issues related to language and public policy. It discusses the diversified and international nature of Australian society, and considers language enrollments, the role of English as the dominant language and the one used for international…

Although the technology of needs assessment has made progress in recent years, much still remains to be learned about how to determine the kinds of training methods and programs that should exist. Of the technology currently available, most is more suited to application with learner groups that are "closed" and "captive" rather…

Effective evaluation requires evaluators and users to be clear about tasks they are performing in terms of purpose for evaluation, type of data-gathering procedures to be used, and the audience to which results are to be directed. Four things are required if the art-science of educational evaluation is to reach its full potential: (1) an explicit…

This descriptive study investigated the relationships between frequency of use of selected modifications in the assessment process of the Hispanic student, and subsequent enrollment patterns into special education. A 35 item questionnaire was mailed to 157 administrators of special education in six states. The most frequently used assessment…

Unobtrusive measures are recommended as a means of assessing educational outcomes of colleges. Such measures can counteract the response bias which is common in questionnaires and interviews. Outcomes researchers are, in fact, asked to supplement standard measures with unobtrusive measures. Interesting data may result from observation of students'…

Objectives and progress of the Student Impacts and Outcomes Committee created in the summer of 1985 at Eastern New Mexico University are reported. The committee was formed to measure and assess the impact that 4 years of college have on a student, and intends to track an entire entering freshman class from the time the students apply until they…