Two school districts in Washington State are seeing fundamental shifts in the learning process by using technology as a tool to support data-centric instruction. An effective student-assessment strategy includes comprehensive information about student progress, analysis of assessment information so specific instructional strategies can be…

Why the standard error must serve as a standard against which educational gains are measured is discussed from a policy analysis perspective, considering technical and policy levels. An online discussion of the issues in the use of the standard error is transcribed and attached. (SLD)

Health care providers now have collective responsibility for clinical outcomes, so professional continuing education should emphasize collaborative generation and application of knowledge. Continuing education professionals should act as performance consultants implementing the principles of organizational learning that, combined with individual…

Discusses the history of educational testing in Canada in the 1990s and the failure of provincial governments to give meaning to school accountability. Uses Winnipeg's Glenlawn Collegiate High School as an example of a school that assessed its own performance honestly by talking to students and graduates, then drew on findings to initiate needed…

Discusses the contrast between assessing achievement for samples of students and the high-stakes testing of all students. High stakes tests can entail harmful direct effects for some individuals and harmful side effects for others. Discusses student engagement in school as a key element of effective schooling. (SLD)

Describes rationale and attributes of local assessment program to augment statewide testing programs. Describes several steps to develop and implement a local assessment program, including setting priorities and goals, meeting with state officials, developing budgets and funding sources, forming development teams, providing professional…

This study was conducted to provide further information regarding factors associated with educational evaluation, using a qualitative approach. Fifty-five interviews were carried out with school principals. The results of the present study supported the notion that the qualitative methods could provide information that quantitative procedures…

Library media specialists can help achieve several goals of the No Child Left Behind Act. Of particular importance is helping students to achieve high test scores, as this would influence the level of federal funds meted out to schools.

An analysis of recent publications in the field of school effectiveness studies shows that virtually no contributions have been made in that knowledge domain with respect to the effectiveness of Christian schools. To address this shortcoming--while keeping the undesirability of a package approach to Christian education in mind--a…

The present study investigated the correlation and predictive value of curriculum-based measurement (CBM) procedures for performance on the Michigan Educational Assessment Program's (MEAP) fourth grade reading assessment. A 1-minute oral reading sample was used to predict MEAP performance 2 weeks later. A positive correlation was established…

The success of standards-based education systems depends on 2 elements: strong standards, and assessments that measure what the standards expect. States that have or adopt test-based accountability programs claim that their tests are aligned to their standards. But there has been up to now no independent methodology for checking alignment. This…

Discusses the development of a survey instrument designed to measure the impact of service learning on student development, specifically students' sense of caring, ethics, connectedness, collaboration, diversity, reciprocity, and self-efficacy. The authors invite other service-learning practitioners to utilize the instrument, and if they wish, to…

Evaluates the outcomes of the service-learning component in two undergraduate courses in which some students identified their own service-learning sites and others chose one of three pre-arranged sites. Concludes that all students experienced a greater understanding of the course content and their roles as citizens, but students who arranged their…

Given the new European institutional environment for education and training, policy and methodology for evaluation have become closely interwoven and stakes have been raised. This emerging situation calls for a robust reappraisal of existing comparative evaluation data and systems in the light of the perceived needs of European countries and of…

Every other year, comprehensive school health education programs and policies are assessed nationally using the School Health Education Profile (SHEP) survey (Grunbaum et al., 1998). The data are collected in modules that are completed by different stakeholders within the school system. As part of a cooperative agreement with the Centers for…