Developed by the Academic Senate Educational Policies Committee, this document focuses on program discontinuance issues faced by local academic senates. Addressed foremost is the need to identify key factors for developing a fair, equitable, and faculty-driven program discontinuance process. Although college districts are required by current…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has developed a new generation of assessment tasks for evaluating student achievement in music. Using paper-and-pencil and performance formats, these tasks draw on the musical traditions of many cultures and historical periods. This report summarizes results from the 1997 assessment of eighth…

The first volume of the 1990 progress report of the Regents' 1988 New York statewide plan for postsecondary education development is presented. An introductory chapter focuses on recent trends in the financing of higher education, recent enrollment trends, and the implications of new enrollment projections. All amendments to institutional master…

On Thursday, May 26, 1988, representatives from Federal departments and agencies, education associations, and members of the American Society for Quality Control attended a seminar in Washington, D.C., that proposed, and explored the feasibility of, a National Educational Quality Initiative. This document comprises the proceedings from this…

This paper discusses the increasing interest in quality assurance in British education including its measurement and management through the introduction of a quality assurance system. The reasons and benefits of beginning a quality assurance system are discussed, and questions of what constitutes quality, whether it is quality in fact…

The "Criteria for Accreditation" (1991) and reaffirmation published by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools were validated through a survey of alumni. The criteria were developed to assist institutions in evaluating their effectiveness. In all, 2,300 survey instruments were mailed to college alumni in the United States. Of…

The assessment movement within higher education will not meet its broadest objectives unless it pays more attention to educational processes through process management. Process management holds that quality suffers when those who produce the goods or services are not directly accountable to the stakeholders in the production enterprise. Within…

This notebook contains the revised standards and guidelines for the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), as well as an updated and consolidated version of NCES legislation. It is intended for NCES staff and contractors as a guide in their data collection, analysis, and dissemination. These standards and guidelines define the limits of…

Many state and local entities are developing and using performance assessment programs. Because these initiatives are so diverse, it is very difficult to understand what they are doing, or to compare them in any meaningful way. Multiple-choice tests are contrasted with performance assessments, and preliminary classifications are suggested to…

Educational refinement is defined as attempts to improve education through incremental improvements in the existing structure, while educational reform refers to change in the structure itself. A strong move is underway to reform education in the United States. It is argued that the development of assessments in support of educational reform…

Reports on the student assessment systems of states participating in the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory are presented. These reports were developed from the database of the Council of Chief State School Officers and the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. Detailed information about each state's student assessment program…

Intended to provide background information and preliminary options for the California Community Colleges' Commission on Innovation, this document describes the principles of Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) and describes policy options for implementation in the state's community colleges. Following introductory materials, the paper recommends…

How teachers' judgments about student literacy behavior were analyzed under the Rasch model is described. The analysis was done to assist staff of the Western Australian Department of Education to revise aspects of a literacy program called "First Steps" for the early years of school. First Steps uses a developmental continuum of small…

This book provides higher education faculty practical suggestions for efficient and effective teaching and assessment of students and evaluation of teaching quality. Chapter 1 is an introduction to the book and its format. The format follows a schema developed to show the general process of planning and teaching a course which should be first…

This update addresses major issues surrounding educational standards for all subject areas. It provides a review and analysis of standards and benchmarks in the content areas of science, mathematics, history, geography, reading, and writing. Also included is an analysis and description of the knowledge and skills considered important for the…