Focus in this report is on ways to improve the learning process in higher education through programs aimed at the improvement of college teachers and college teaching methods. Divided in two sections (Regional Action for Change and Resources for Change), various authors present information on target areas for improvement. Such areas include…

Four evaluation methods for determining educational policy are objectivism; subjectivism; emotive-imperative; and instrumentalism. For the objectivist, the rationale for undertaking an evaluation is based on empirical verification or non-verification of claims of existing policies or activities. Secondly, the objectivist is interested in…

This manual is designed to accompany reports prepared by the Pennsylvania Department of Education for the 505 school districts in that state, summarizing results of the Educational Quality Assessment. The normative sample is described as being stratified on two dimensions: district enrollment and wealth. Administrative procedures are summarized.…

Results are presented of a study to (1) analyze junior high school music education programs in Utah during 1975-76, (2) assess the professional preparation of the music personnel, and (3) make recommendations for junior high music programs in Utah. Over 200 music teachers in Utah's 40 school districts were surveyed. Eight major questions covered…

To permit local districts to exercise their option to use standardized tests for state-mandated evaluations, a test rating form was developed. A key concern was the percentage of state approved reading and mathematics skills measured by a test, rather than the test's value for other uses. Other content concerns were readability and cultural and…

The College Outcome Measures Project (COMP) was organized to design, develop, validate, and disseminate assessment instruments and procedures to measure and evaluate the knowledge and skills that undergraduate students are expected to acquire as a result of general or liberal education programs, as well as those important to effective functioning…

This manual is part of a kit consisting of four documents which bring together different types of items that measure a number of career and occupational development (COD) objectives developed by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). (NAEP--which completed a national survey measuring the achievement of knowledge, skills,…

This report of an organizational analysis of 35 day care centers in New England defines the key factors in the management of a child care organization and assesses the relative proficiency with which the centers deal with these factors. The analysis is restricted to three variables: center size, decision making (level of participation of all staff…

The document discusses a study which assessed leadership in art education in public schools. A major purpose was to determine whether a gap exists between the needs of schools and supply of adequate leaders. It was hypothesized that lack of progress in the arts in schools could be attributed to inadequate leadership. Four groups of professional…

The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether the development of new, planned communities has resulted in the provision of better schools and educational opportunities than are provided in less-planned suburban developments. The book outlines the steps and stages in planning an educational system for new communities--building new…

Criterion referenced, field-tested instruments developed to assess 11th and 12th grade vocational agriculture education programs in (1) agricultural mechanics, (2) horticulture, (3) agribusiness supplies and services, and (4) farm management are presented in the document. A narrative report briefly discusses objectives; test construction; field…

Results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress are examined in the context of male and female differences. Considered are the first four years, beginning in 1969 and ending in 1973. Data were gathered in the learning areas of science, citizenship and writing the first year; reading and literature the second year; social studies and…

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report consists of a collection of essays concerned with the relationship between earnings and education. One of its purposes was to collect the diverse sources of earnings classified by education in OECD countries. but the more important purpose was methodological. Thus, the major…

The more commonly cited uses of state and local district assessment programs are addressed. The implications of seven proposed uses of state assessment data are reviewed point-by-point: (1) allocating state grants-in-aid to alleviate weaknesses in instructional programs; (2) designing instructional support programs for teachers; (3) developing…

This first report in the 1974-75 Michigan Educational Assessment Program presents the objectives of the assessment program and indicates in detail some of the specific procedures to be used. The program provides achievement measures for grades one, four, and seven. The measures at all three grades are objective-referenced tests constructed through…