The impact of an experiential/feedback oriented curricula on levels of confidence of dental students was examined. The study was conducted in the TEAM (Training in Expanded Auxiliary Management) program at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine. The subjects were 31 senior dental students (fourth year) who had completed a…

A series of reports describes the activities of the Office of Research and Evaluation and compiles data descriptive of the Austin (Texas) Independent School District. This report describes the system-wide evaluation data for the school year 1976-77, which demonstrate improved performance in the basic skills areas of reading and mathematics,…

This manual was designed for the administrator who has the responsibility for conducting all or part of an evaluation or is responsible for using evaluation results in program planning. The manual provides step-by-step guidelines to help: identify the purposes and audiences of an evaluation; prepare a basic description of the program or activity;…

A set of strategies is presented which can provide local communities and programs with methods of enhancing their parent education activities. Staff members, realizing that effective parent education programs could not be limited solely to short-term activities and/or providing parents with a variety of materials, made attempts to increase parent…

Discussed in this volume is the development of a design for a Regional Environmental Learning System. This design begins with the generation of options from which later design changes will be made. Topics covered include: (1) mission for environmental education; (2) political perspectives for design; (3) the task of conceptual design; and (4)…

The steps, approaches, and tools of the collective inquiry process posited by a Regional Environmental Learning System is the subject of this volume. Approaches discussed include: (1) charette approach, (2) AT&T/Battelle approach, and (3) the Washington State approach. Tools for collective inquiry are described and field tests are discussed.…

This volume deals with the evaluation of a Regional Environmental Learning System (RELS). Five contexts of local evaluation are discussed: (1) evaluation by a board of directors, (2) evaluation of impact of inservice, (3) evaluation of bias, (4) evaluation of student achievement, and (5) ethnographic evaluation of a community-based program. Case…

Discussions at the National Consortium on Testing conference are summarized. Updates on recent and upcoming events are given by Jeff Schiller (National Institute of Education), Doug Whitney (American Council on Education), John Maxwell (National Council of Teachers of English), Dorianne Almann (National Science Teachers Association), Eric Gardner…

This report summarizes the results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress 1977-78 assessment of mathematics. Chapter one provides general information about mathematics assessments and includes discussion of the objectives, samples, exercises, statistics, and background variables of the assessment. Chapter two considers changes in…

The Pennsylvania School Improvement Program (PSIP) was created to assist local schools and school districts in the development of curriculum improvement strategies. The process involves the use of "linkers," curriculum specialists who work with teams from the local level to ascertain needs, then connect the local teams with the research…

The Pennsylvania School Improvement Program (PSIP) was created to assist local schools and school districts in the development of curriculum improvement strategies. The process involves the use of "linkers," curriculum specialists who work with teams from the local level to ascertain needs, then connect the local teams with the research…

Findings are presented of an empirical study involving public, private, and parochial school systems' use of standardized test information by central office administrators. Examples of actual use are given, and descriptions of central office perspectives on standardized testing are detailed. Three categories were found to account for most of the…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) administered the selected supplemental mathematics exercises to 13-year-old students during October and November 1975 and to 17-year-old students during March and April 1976. This assessment represents a specially modified supplement to 1972-73 full-scale mathematics assessment and was…

This report describes the major aspects of a University of Michigan project, "Competency-Based Teacher Education Focusing on the Directed Teaching Experience," and presents results of the first semester's experience with a newly developed assessment model. The primary goals of the project were: (1) to develop an assessment system which would…

The modern school system has become overloaded with expectations, many of which simply cannot be met. A large part of the problem is that programs are instituted without planning, thought, or evaluation, and concepts like career education are taught separately instead of being integrated into the curriculum. Successful dealing with problems…