The major purpose of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is to provide information useful for improving the quality of American elementary and secondary schools. NAEP has focused more on the measurement of academic achievement than on the need for information on learning contexts. Additional information is needed about why…

Three key terms--social studies, values, and attitudes--are discussed in relation to a national assessment in social studies. Definitions of these terms will affect decisions about what and how to assess. Two major approaches define social studies as: (1) social sciences simplified and adapted for pedagogical purposes; or (2) that portion of the…

This paper explores some of the issues involved in developing an index of functional literacy that can serve diagnostic purposes. In 1985, Secretary of Education William J. Bennett outlined principles for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), including a principle calling for NAEP to "develop an index of functional literacy…

Intended for students taking the Grade 12 Examination in English 30 in Alberta, Canada, this reading test (to be administered along with a questions booklet) includes the following 10 short selections taken from fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama: "Parents as People (with Children)" (Ellen Goodman); "Everybody Knows about the…

Intended for students taking the Grade 12 Diploma Examinations in English 30 in Alberta, Canada, this questions booklet contains 80 multiple choice test items based on the ten selections in the readings booklet. The questions examine the students' skills in (1) understanding meanings, (2) recalling materials read, (3) understanding and…

Intended for students taking Grade 12 Diploma Examinations in English 33 in Alberta, Canada, this reading test is designed to be administered with a questions booklet. The following short selections taken from fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, and day-to-day functional materials are included: (1) "Interpreter" (Gary Hyland); (2) an…

This three-part concept paper was the result of a colloquium, during which 35 community college educators met in Traverse City, Michigan, to discuss issues related to access, assessment, and developmental education and to develop concept papers and recommendations for each topic. First, introductory material describes the colloquium and its…

This training manual consists of two major sections: a "Handbook for Conducting an Elementary Program Review" and the "Elementary Program Quality Criteria" document. The handbook is designed to assist a program review team in (1) judging the effect of curriculum, instructional methodologies, and effectiveness strategies on…

In order to provide students training to teach handicapped learners with practice in acquiring and utilizing information about individual pupils in classroom situations, a guided design approach was implemented in a course on decision making that covered the major assessment techniques. A modified guided design book was written for the course…

From 1946 to 1976, the field of higher education operated in a growth-based mode, encouraged by government decisions and financed by government funds. During the massive recession and exploding federal deficits of the early seventies, however, legislators began examining the real value of higher education, and asking whether higher education was…

This paper describes the Denver public schools' Standards of Excellence Program, a research-based means of developing and implementing school improvements while reinforcing existing practices characteristic of effective schools. Researchers have identified four indicators of school effectiveness that can be observed, measured, controlled, and…

Described as an "action" document, this guide for the development of high school English programs emphasizes the processes of curriculum development, rather than the product, and strongly advocates local control over curriculum development. Part I suggests the following five-step procedure for developing new curricula and for revising/updating…

Intended for teachers and students, this document updates information about the design, sections, and scoring of the Grade 12 diploma examinations in English 30 and 33 for the 1986-87 school year in Alberta, Canada. It contains blueprints illustrating the relationship between the content and scoring of writing and reading test assignments and…

Intended for students taking the Grade 12 Diploma Examinations in English 30 in Alberta, Canada, this reading test contains 80 multiple choice test items based on the ten readings in the readings booklet. The questions examine the student's skills in (1) understanding meanings, (2) understanding and interpreting the relationships between form and…

This document outlines the major points of the first annual status report of the Spencerport (New York) More Effective Schools/Teaching Project. Section 1 contains a list of 15 basic principles and assumptions upon which the project is based. Section 2 presents three conclusions drawn at the end of the first year and a half of the project. First,…