A two-phase empirical investigation identified, categorized, and prioritized research needs in vocational special education for the next 10 years. Phase 1 involved 18 university personnel in a three-round Delphi technique that generated 91 future research objectives. Research statements collected from Round 1 questionnaires were used to construct…

A democratic model of educational evaluation and some policy recommendations to develop culturally appropriate evaluation are presented. The traditional hard science paradigm in research must be replaced with evaluation designed to feed back to communities of varying cultural backgrounds. The most fundamental assumption of the new model is…

This volume brings together papers from the 1991 Conference on Experiential Learning held at Surrey University (England); its 25 chapters are divided into 5 sections. An introduction provides a brief overview of each chapter. Section 1 is concerned with theoretical frameworks and philosophical and critical reflection: "Absorbing Experiential…

This paper reviews recent literature pertaining to outcomes assessment, especially college senior surveys, and provides background information on several successful studies documenting the effectiveness of outcomes assessment. Books chosen for review are: (1) "Information on Student Outcomes: How To Get It and How To Use It" (Peter T. Ewell); (2)…

Across the field of educational assessment the case has been made for alternatives to the multiple-choice item type. Most of the alternative types of items require a subjective evaluation by a rater. The reliability of this subjective rating is a key component of these types of alternative items. In this paper, measures of reliability are…

In the interests of improving the educational success of limited English proficient (LEP) students, this analysis outlines a set of recommendations that include principles and ideal practices to be used in educational programs for LEP students. Specifically, the recommendations provide guidance for improving and making more uniform procedures for…

In 1988, the American College Testing Program, together with the National Council of Instructional Administrators and the National Council for Student Development, initiated Project Cooperation (PC) to examine outcomes assessment strategies and measures of institutional effectiveness among two-year colleges. The first initiative of PC was a survey…

Three volumes present, in three chapters each, summaries of the papers delivered at the June 1992 European Conference on Educational Research. In 1992 the annual Dutch Educational Research Association conference became international. The 9 themes of the conference, arranged in 9 chapters, and the number of papers presented for each theme are as…

Recent years have seen a new and serious commitment to improving methods of assessing academic performance. Schools, school districts, and states are experimenting with a wide range of assessment alternatives. This paper is about this new commitment to assessment and begins with some background on standardized tests because the rationale for…

This paper argues that the values of industry and higher education are incompatible and that imposition of industrial values on universities must necessarily destroy traditional academic values. Any dialogue between industry and higher education must grapple with this value conflict. The industrial ethic is based on unlimited growth, exploitation…

Teachers, districts, and states working with the Northwest Regional Education Laboratory have been using a six-trait analytical scoring assessment model for student writing. The six traits are: (1) ideas; (2) organization; (3) voice; (4) word choice; (5) sentence fluency; and (6) conventions. For the last 4 years, the Northwest Regional Education…

This document, the first of five volumes that comprise the final report of the National Assessment of Vocational Education contains a policy statement by the Advisory Panel and a summary and recommendations. "The Future of Perkins--A Policy Statement" (Laurel McFarland) outlines three principles that the next Perkins Act should develop:…

It is important for teachers and students to develop a broad understanding of Japanese education. Americans who are knowledgeable about teaching and learning in Japan gain insights about a different culture, and are better able to think clearly about our own educational system. This digest examines (1) Japanese educational achievements; (2) the…

This report is designed to provide educators who are embarking on the Quality Performance Accreditation (QPA) process with an overview of assessment options, a discussion about the alignment of assessment and curriculum, and a compendium of resources for further investigation into the concept of student assessment. The QPA process recognizes that…

Largely because of high student loan default rates, much of the criticism of federal aid programs has focused on policies and practices affecting the participation of proprietary schools in federal student aid. This report reviews alternative indicators of school performance that are currently used or could be used by the federal student aid…