National concerns regarding quality education make program evaluation and outcomes assessment more important than ever. Traditionally, however, educators have failed to hold their programs and services accountable, or to provide evidence that selected activities were achieving intended results. The purpose of this chapter is to give educators the…

One role of counselors and educators is to use assessment in the service of students and clients by monitoring educational progress and ensuring that learning is taking place. Under the right conditions and with proper use, employing technology to foster assessment practices can introduce helpful and productive efficiencies into the educational…

The first step to meeting the fundamental aim of any educational institution is to understand clearly what the students need. Needs assessment is a tool educators can use to help meet this goal. Needs assessment data suggest the basis for plans, strategies, and practices that may ultimately lead to school improvement. This chapter reviews issues…

Educational policy issues must be seen as statements of intention, with the practice issues of accountability kept separate. Accountability should not be juxtaposed to school improvement. Instead, accountability should be defined broadly as doing the things that improve practice so that the intended results can be achieved. If there is no balance…

This report presents district- and college-level Management Information System (MIS) baseline information for two fiscal year periods 1997-98 and 1998-99 specific to the systemwide Partnership for Excellence performance goals. The primary purpose of this report is to feed back data contained in the MIS on district and college performance related…

This document presents the assessment instrument used in Glendale Community College's (California) instructional program review and improvement self-study report. This document contains the following chapters: (1) response to demand, which looks at demand, offerings, and scheduling in the areas of enrollment, FTES by course/program, number of…

This final report includes findings that were published in a December 1996 interim report and additional findings regarding student academic performance. Four types of data collection were used: a descriptive database for charter schools operating in Minnesota; 2-day site visits to each charter school during the spring and fall of 1996 to…

This policy brief draws on research and evaluations of efforts in Tennessee, California, and Wisconsin to describe different approaches to reducing class size in kindergarten through third grade. Tennessee implemented a randomized experiment to investigate the effectiveness of smaller classes; California used a statewide approach; and Wisconsin…

This document includes the results of Maine's 2003-2004 study examining actions taken by 18 school districts in response to the challenges of developing a Local Assessment System (LAS) using the principles and criteria set forth in the "LAS Guide" distributed to school districts in June, 2003. The report is organized into three parts:…

An introduction and background to National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) discusses how decisions were made as to what objectives were assessed and how the evidence was interpreted. (Author/KM) Aspect of National Assessment (NAEP) dealt with in this document: Program Description.

A bibliography of NAEP official reports and booklets containing the descriptions of objectives and sub-objectives developed for each National Assessment subject area and the Process of their development is presented. (Author/KM) Aspect of National Assessment (NAEP) dealt with in this document: Program Description.

This article provides an assessment of data analysis and reporting practices in reports of research published in volumes 16 and 17 of the Journal of Industrial Teacher Education and volumes 4 and 5 of the Journal of Vocational Education Research. (SSH)

Follow-up studies are needed to assess the value of vocational education. Much of the assessment research is presently done by persons outside the field. Information is needed so that a shift to studies by those within vocational education can occur. This article presents a survey of selected works related to longitudinal studies. (Author)

The report looks at the implications of National Assessment of Educational Progress results for teaching science to secondary gifted students. Results of the national status studies of K-12 science programs are briefly summarized, and recommendations for providing science programs for the gifted are offered. (SW)