An outline is provided for a national educational assessment and improvement plan as suggested by the National Education Goals of 1990. The following implicit assumptions underlie National Education Objective 5.5: (1) abilities to think critically, communicate effectively, and solve problems can be defined and the definitions can be agreed upon as…

This paper makes a case for the development of several indirect indicators of national progress in reaching the collegiate attainment objective of the National Education Goals of 1990. These indicators would be developed concurrently with a proposed performance-based assessment to be administered to a national sample of graduating college seniors.…

The role and influence of mandated testing in educational reform are reviewed. Mandated testing refers to large-scale (districtwide or statewide) multiple-choice testing programs used for policy purposes of evaluation and accountability, which includes nationally normed standardized achievement tests and tests custom-developed to reflect state and…

This paper explores issues that designers of learning environments should consider, omitting issues about knowledge learned and the social settings in which learning occurs that are addressed elsewhere. The perspective taken on design is to think of each decision in terms of its costs and benefits, an approach that may allow designers to minimize…

This class manual for "Information Resources in the Social Sciences," a class offered at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science of the University of Texas at Austin introduces the objectives of the course, an exploration of various fields in the social sciences and the English-language reference tools of the social…

The Bibliographic Instruction Committee of the Wichita State (Kansas) University Libraries recommended changes to improve the current bibliographic instruction program for lower division undergraduates. The shortcomings of the current program, one class period in a required English course, were analyzed; and suggestions were made to improve the…

In fall 1992, a study was conducted at Sinclair Community College (SCC) in Dayton, Ohio, to determine factors contributing to former students' decisions not to return to the college. Two groups of former students were included the study: those who had last attended in fall 1990 and had thus been absent for 6 quarters, and those who had last…

In spring 1993, the Student Government Association (SGA) of Calhoun Community College (CCC), in Alabama, initiated a survey of all CCC students in day and evening classes at the main campus and at two off-campus sites to determine student opinions regarding CCC agencies, services, and student activities. Of the 410 students who returned completed…

An evaluation of a foreign language experience program for fourth graders in an inner-city school is presented. First, an introductory section reviews literature on the rationale for and structure of foreign language programs in the elementary school. In the program, students learned about Russian foreign language and culture in a weekly 30-minute…

This report identifies issues and offers recommendations concerning the development of all three sectors of Iowa's higher education community (community colleges, independent colleges and universities, and regent colleges and universities). The report first outlines the educational environment within Iowa in terms of demographic, educational,…

These highlights and recommendations from the 1992 National Training Institute and Spring Issues Conference are the result of a consensus building activity that took place on the final afternoon of the conference. Conference participants used an Instantaneous Response Interactive System to enter their responses to questions. Responses were…

This booklet outlines 30 competencies for individuals working with people who have autism or other pervasive developmental disabilities. For each competency, three levels are defined. At level one, trainees show mastery by identifying, discussing, or defining the concepts and skills; at level two, trainees discuss, participate, design, use, and…

The Auxiliary Secretary of Vocational, Technical, and Higher Skill Instruction of Puerto Rico has the responsibility of offering prevocational services to students with disabilities. In the prevocational phase, the student receives academic instruction and acquires the knowledge and skills of general employment. This teacher's guide, in Spanish,…

North Carolina has maintained a "Standard Course of Study" since the 1890s; every five to seven years since that time, it has been revised to reflect the needs of North Carolina students. The Standard Course of Study includes curriculum that should be made available to every child in the state's public schools. The "K-12…

This paper describes an innovative technology infrastructure for teacher preparation in a land grant university that is committed to a vision of technology-using educators--the new Undergraduate Teacher Development Center (UTDC) at the University of Missouri College of Education, designed through a collaborative process with school districts and…