This collection presents evaluation reports on 52 Atlanta (Georgia) public schools. Critical questions and key findings are presented for each school in the areas of: (1) general descriptive characteristics, such as enrollment, student mobility, Chapter 1 services, and prior experiences of students; (2) performance-based achievement on Georgia…

In the spring of 1990, over 9,000 4th-, 8th- and 12th-grade students (only 6 percent of all students in Massachusetts) were assessed using open-ended mathematical, scientific, social studies, and reading concepts. Beginning with the Massachusetts Educational Assessment Program for 1992, open-ended questions will be administered to all students and…

In 1994-95, all Illinois public colleges and universities and some Illinois private colleges and universities are required to submit reviews of their baccalaureate programs in education (primarily teacher preparation programs) and academic programs at all levels in the fields of English language/literature and mathematics. This package of…

In this paper, performance assessments are cast within a sampling framework. A performance assessment score is viewed as a sample of student performance drawn from a complex universe defined by a combination of all possible tasks, occasions, raters, and measurement methods. Using generalizability theory, the authors present evidence bearing on the…

The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) in Aurora (Illinois) is a pioneering educational community, the nation's only three-year publicly funded residential high school. Its mission requires the achievement of two separate goals: (1) the education of the gifted young of Illinois in science and mathematics and (2) the sharing of…

The Florida Board of Community Colleges conducted a survey of the current state of preparatory programs (i.e., math, reading, English, and English as a Second Language (ESL)) in the state's 28 community colleges. Data was gathered through a literature search, a survey of directors of developmental programs, Bureau of Research and Information…

This paper discusses program evaluation as a condition for the receipt of federal funds under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. It focuses on some actual and potential linkages between effectiveness or outcome evaluation, implementation evaluation, compliance monitoring, and the concepts of program improvement and…

The challenge of making educational programs accessible to people with disabilities, combined with the increasing emphasis on testing and other forms of assessment, has translated into a need for accommodations in the testing and assessment of people with disabilities. Typically, test accommodations are provided for people with sensory and/or…

Between 1991 and 1993, a statewide study of public preschool practices in North Carolina was conducted to determine the characteristics of pre-kindergarten programs and of the children and families they served; short-term outcomes for children; and kindergarten outcomes for children who attended public preschool compared to those with other…

The mandated minimum competency programs of two states--Pennsylvania and Maryland--are examined, and some of the effects on school districts of raising the testing stakes are reviewed. In a survey conducted during the winter of 1986-87 in Pennsylvania and Maryland, one teacher, one principal, and one central office staff member each from 277…

The Massachusetts Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) is designed to improve curriculum and instruction in the public schools. The MEAP tests all students in grades 4, 8, and 12 in major curriculum areas biennially. The test is not designed to yield scores for individual students. This document describes the content of the assessment instruments…

State testing programs often attempt to provide annual information for use in student guidance and qualification, school and program evaluation, and broad policy decisions. With the development of a new type of assessment instrument, the "duplex design," the several functions of state testing programs can be served in a single test…

Sponsored by the Curriculum Policies Committee, which advises the Alberta Minister of Education on matters relating to the curricula used in provincial schools, the study of school programs for Alberta natives (Metis, status and non-status Indians) was intended to discuss whether there should be special educational programs for these students. The…

Although experts overwhelmingly support the idea of using assessment to improve college instruction, most testing programs call for summative evaluation or accountability rather than formative evaluation. In using assessment to improve instruction it is essential to examine what decisions should be made in order to improve instruction.…

Results of assessing Eastern New Mexico University students' cognitive outcomes are presented as one component of research being conducted by the Student Impacts and Outcomes Committee. The impact of general education studies on undergraduates' integration and utilization of knowledge is being assessed using the American College Testing Program's…