Theory and implications for methods of assessing administrative performance in simulated exercises are presented. The rationale is given for the following: (1) developing simulated exercises; (2) measuring behaviors exhibited during the exercises; (3) training evaluators; (4) combining information across exercises; and (5) storing and retrieving…

A review of the problems and potential of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) elementary-secondary educational system and a brief summary of the postsecondary system are provided in this report. Methodology involved dialogues with approximately 1,500 citizens; a survey of 870 government leaders, school administrators, teachers, parents, and…

This paper describes recent research on the topic of assessment that has been conducted at Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. It is argued that assessment built around an interesting and challenging project that explores a particular domain (such as music, writing, drawing, mathematics, science, or programming) offers an…

The U.S. Senate Committee on Labor and Human Relations reviewed the National Academic Advisory Report Card Act of 1990 (Senate Bill 3095) to authorize the creation of a National Report Card to be published annually to measure the educational achievement of both students and schools and to establish a National Council on Educational Goals. The…

Based on material prepared for the California Assessment Program, an argument in favor of authentic assessment is presented, and authentic assessment is contrasted with traditional standardized tests. An assessment is authentic when student performance on intellectual tasks is directly examined. Comparatively, traditional assessment relies on…

An instrument for to assessing the extent to which postsecondary vocational education programs are competency-based consisted of 159 items grouped into 8 subscales corresponding to 4 standards: (1) identification and validation of competencies; (2) procedures for assessing student competencies; (3) instructional procedures; and (4) administrative…

Traditional evaluation designs using standardized achievement tests are not sensitive to the specific skills taught to migrant children in summer programs. This report proposes principles for evaluating summer migrant education programs based on the Federal Register requirements. The paper also offers information for designing evaluation…

Needs assessment is a young and growing field. Needs assessments contribute to effective educational planning and help educators improve services to students. Needs assessment can be used to identify goals and objectives, but probably has the most utility as a problem-focusing strategy that includes the following sequence: (1) identification of…

The Educational Quality Indicators (EQI) initiative, a collaboration between Alberta Education and 12 school jurisdictions in the province, is described, and its implications are discussed. The EQIs developed are designed to provide information to assist practitioners in assessing the quality of educational programs and the delivery system by…

The effect of successful school practices on educational outcomes of disadvantaged students is examined in this project report. A second focus is to determine ways in which state education agencies can support local school improvement efforts in the secondary and middle schools. As part of a larger long-term effort to improve the educational…

This handbook is designed to provide school decision makers with a global view of how assessment programs for home study schools are developed. Outcomes assessment (OA) is a required element for recognition by the National Home Study Council Accrediting Committee and hence for member schools. This handbook is designed to enable program developers…

College outcomes evaluation is discussed in two papers. In "The Political Economy of Assessment," Joseph P. O'Neill considers standards of accountability, American reliance on faculty to assess, and the danger of validating quality by external examination. By using the credit-hour system, a quantity indicator (time), is used as a…

An overview is provided of the activities and recommendations of Luzerne County Community College's (LCCC's) Ad Hoc Committee on Academic Excellence (COAE), which was formed to review recently published studies and reports on academic excellence in American higher education and to analyze the applicability to LCCC of the recommendations of the…

A research project was conducted in 1982 by Sacramento City College's Assessment Center to evaluate the effectiveness of selected English courses found in three levels of English: English 55 and 56 (the lowest level); English 57 (level two), and English 1A (level three). The study focused on students who had reading and English scores required for…

In November, 1985, the Council of Chief State School Officers adopted a plan for developing educational indicators. The plan provided for the development of a common measure of student achievement to be collected across states beginning in 1988-89. In order to design a student achievement assessment program, the states were asked to give their…