In the early 1990s, the Quality Assurance Unit of Strathclyde (Scotland) Education Department involved parents in the school inspection process by surveying over 34,000 parents of school and preschool students. Survey responses concerning satisfaction with the parent-school relationship and educational quality are analyzed and interpreted in terms…

Explores attitudes and perceptions of 120 student teachers with regard to their ability to implement multicultural education in the student teaching classroom. Results suggest that confusion and ambiguity are present throughout the student teacher education experience. Factors that contribute to confusion about multicultural education are…

This study is fourth in a series demonstrating that achievement tests are multidimensional and that using subscores from national surveys can enhance test validity and usefulness. It extends the analyses of science achievement data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS: 88) through grade 12. (SLD)

Offers preliminary evidence of the effectiveness of outcomes endorsement, which evaluates institutional effectiveness using a set of student-centered, measurable goals established in conjunction with an external peer team. Indicates that the team assists in goal selection, measure selection, plan development, and intervention documentation.…

This article discusses the 6-E Report Card, a tool that provides a quantitative evaluation of instructional programs based upon a unique decision-making model that meets objectives by measuring excellence, equity, efficiency, effort, effectiveness, and ethics. Programs are assessed for their ability to meet or exceed predetermined performance…

Describes the current assessment policy context in primary education in Ireland and analyzes the perspectives of teachers, policymakers, and parents. Reveals the need for the various interest groups to clarify the purposes of assessment and to recognize that different purposes may require a different mode of assessment. (Contains 32 references.)…

Presents an overview of features central to conducting assessment in project-based learning (PBL). Focuses on critical assessment issues and discusses multiple assessments; assessment as a learning activity; student involvement in setting standards for assessment; and outside assessment of the final artifact. Describes technological tools that can…

This article discusses high-stakes testing and how special educators can incorporate accommodations, include test preparation in the curriculum (test approach skills, test taking skills, and test preparedness), prepare for test administration, and explore exam alternatives. Key legal and ethical concerns and considerations when determining…

This article identifies the promises of standards-based reform and the mechanisms that were supported to ensure that these promises were fulfilled. It addresses ways in which adjustments are being made to ensure that standards-based reform for all students really means all students, including students with disabilities. Next steps are discussed.…

Contends that special education's process-based accountability system--one that relies on procedural rules, exhaustive documentation, and legal threats as the only means of holding schools and educators accountable--is ineffective. Proposes that schools shift from a process-based accountability system to one driven by results with a focus on…

Argues that states should reinvent their school-finance systems to align them with standards-based reform. New finance systems must link standards with funding, link schools with social services, and target educational adequacy and equity. (PKP)

This article explains how teachers can construct curriculum-based assessments (CBA), using state academic standards, to measure the reading skills and progress of elementary students with mild disabilities. Two mini-cases illustrate the creation of CBA test items based on individual educational goals and the Indiana Academic Standards. (Contains…

Two models are presented to compare trainee and expert assessment strategies. The use of these procedures in assessment training programs is illustrated in a study of 5 postgraduate students in an environmental education course who were required to rate the work of 20 students. (SLD)

Discusses improvements in assessment of children and adolescents with disabilities including new psychological testing standards, updated and renormed cognitive assessments, and vocational assessments with increased ecological validity. Cites progress made in technical qualities of assessment and utilization. (Authors/CM)

Problems associated with evaluating the restructured curriculum and educational system implemented in Kenya in 1985 are reviewed. Most of the problems center around time constraints and the large numbers of students versus the small numbers of teachers and administrators. (SLD)