The AACP Council of Faculties, to insure its position as a contributor in pharmaceutical education, should support a comprehensive study of the following: teaching/teacher evaluation; curriculum evaluation; evaluation of admissions and student achievements; and policies of teacher promotion, tenure grant, and salary. (LBH)

Seven dimensions for characterizing a curriculum in higher education are suggested. They include: prior knowledge; institutional response to prior knowledge; primary teaching mode; rates of learning; styles of learning; content openness; and assessment. This characterization is applied specifically to chemistry departments. (LBH)

Argues that standards and assessments are not the simple solution to educational reform they are thought to be and that they raise questions about the proper aims of schooling. Offers human capital development, i.e., the increase in knowledge, skills, dispositions, and social resources of adults in schools as a more potent potential for improving…

A series of studies by the Technical Review Panel (TRP) of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to improve the quality and utility of the NAEP is introduced, with a description of the NAEP, the creation of the TRP, the education policy issues that influenced the selection of research topics, and the relationship among the…

The case study of a school involved in a pilot study of the use of a state-mandated teacher evaluation system as a tool for professional development is presented. Eight principles that can be used to guide future school improvement efforts grounded in classroom-based assessments of teaching and learning are identified. (SLD)

A new instrument, the Attitude toward Educational Measurement Inventory, was completed by 331 undergraduate education majors. Results show high internal consistency reliability for the subscales and moderate stability reliability. Interscale correlations indicate that the three scales represent related, but distinct, aspects of student's attitudes…

This exploration of the assessment of teachers' practical knowledge begins with a description of the characteristics of teacher knowledge and a discussion of the importance of teacher views and teaching as a profession. The possibilities and problems associated with assessing teacher practical knowledge are discussed. (SLD)

Describes an analytic framework developed to support principals' instructional leadership in the context of contemporary reform perspectives. The leadership model suggests "lenses" through which educational experience can be examined: (1) content standards; (2) performance standards and assessment; (3) teacher instructional practices;…

Details the history of California's experience with large-scale writing assessment. Describes the introduction, development, and scoring of the California Assessment Program, later renamed the California Learning Assessment System (CLAS). Discusses controversies over removal of certain writing prompts and objections to CLAS. Notes that funding for…

Survey results provide insights into school policies and procedures, leadership, teaching methodology, and the quality of instruction offered by schools. Offers a road map for improving school-community relations. (MLF)

Outlines a new method of reporting scores on the National Catholic Education Association's Assessment of Catholic Religious Education (ACRE). Participants will receive group-score reports that break down and detail the percent of their students classified as advanced, proficient or in need of improvement. Users who choose to receive individual…

Compares faculty and administrator attitudes on the importance of institutional activities in two-year colleges, based on responses from 358 administrators and faculty from 58 institutions. Discusses five points that may help guide efforts to implement institutional effectiveness (IE) activities, including the fact that faculty and administrative…

Describes how South Seattle Community College (Washington) is addressing the challenge of portraying the variety of assessment efforts that are occurring across all levels--institutional, departmental, and individual course/classroom--in a way that helps the college address meaningful improvement goals at the same time. Contains four references…

Discusses the history, struggles, and successes of assessment work done at Tacoma Community College (TCC) (Washington). Demonstrates the state and national work TCC has accomplished and the partnerships that have been formed with other institutions as a result of the work. Offers assessment grid example. (NB)

Proposed an accountably model that addresses the challenges of allowing school districts to choose the specific strategies they use to measure student performance and evaluated this model using data from multiple sources for all school districts in Florida. Findings identify three strategies that would be useful for this type of accountability…