A major factor in the decline of all language instruction has been the tendency to treat language in the classroom as a body of content rather than a medium of communication. Suggestions for a change in curriculum have been plentiful; however, three points of agreement among these suggestions are identifiable as problem areas. First, a reliance on…

This document is the second volume in a set of five Career Education Measurement Handbooks intended to help local education personnel in measurement and evaluation. This handbook is designed to provide descriptions of an assortment of measurement instruments currently being used to assess career education objectives. A brief introduction describes…

Most standardized achievement tests do not provide much information that can be used in improving an educational program. Teachers and other program developers need to know what kinds of program objectives are being learned and by what kinds of students and what kinds are not being learned and by whom. Information of this sort furnishes a basis…

Designed for educators actively involved with the teaching of writing, this summary report contains an overview of the background, major findings, and recommendations of the 1979 Manitoba (Canada) Writing Assessment Program. Various sections of the report provide the following information: (1) highlights of the general report of the program; (2)…

Needs assessment is a systematic procedure by which educational needs are identified and ranked in order of priority. A need may be described as the measurable discrepancy between an acceptable standard and an observed level of performance. Two fundamental elements in organizing a needs assessment are a strong level of commitment on the part of…

This booklet outlines procedures for evaluating a school district's writing program that was designed to overcome the adverse educational and social effects of minority group isolation by improving the academic achievement of minority group students. The first section describes how the writing program addressed three of the school district's…

To establish a framework for surveying the bilingual situation in the Netherlands and especially in Friesland, bilingualism is viewed from four angles: linguistically, psycholinguistically, sociolinguistically in the micro-environment (the speaker's community), and sociolinguistically in the macro-environment (the state). The background of…

This report focuses on how students across the nation, of three different ages--9, 13, and 17--revise their own writing. The report is based on detailed analyses of two writing assignments: the first required 9-year-olds and 13-year-olds to write and revise a school report about the moon, and the second required 17-year-olds to write and revise a…

After some initial comments on Robert Calfee's discussion of ways in which theory and research in reading assessment can help decision makers, the author makes two points: (1) we need to provide a much better education for reading teachers than is currently being provided, and this will require radically larger amounts of time than are currently…

The guide offers a framework for approaching the assessment process of recreation and leisure service delivery to handicapped children and youth by college/university faculty and administrators. Twenty-five questions regarding manpower assessment are answered, including the following: why is manpower assessment important and how is it usually…

The report identifies important questions typically asked of the vocational education enterprise by legislators. Assuming that Congress provides a national forum for inquiry into the progress of vocational education where evidence from the States is reflected, selected House and Senate committee hearings and reports on education were reviewed to…

The document contains a descriptive outline of the various components of the Texas career education learning system. This includes: (1) a brief discussion on policy guidance; (2) an overview of career education from 1970-1975; (3) an outline of goals for public school education; (4) a 25-page document called "Basic Learner Outcomes for Career…

The evaluation of instructional television (ITV) is a new field with evaluation methods largely borrowed from other disciplines. The evaluator is not apt to be trained specifically in this area but will learn "on the job" while defining his role for those with whom he works. The evaluator should consider the following recommendations: (1)…

The study to assess the status of elementary and secondary home economics programs in Massachusetts and to determine the inservice needs of the teachers also had the objectives of: determining desirable types of inservice activities, determining desirable subject areas, gathering information on teacher education and experience, and sharing the…

This report provides a description of the steps in planning the assessment of reading on a statewide basis. Work on the 1974 Oregon Statewide Assessment Program began in September 1973 and culminated in a set of reports and related informational packets in November 1974. The assessment plan involved the following procedures: selection of 25…