A process for evaluating the effectiveness of educational organizations, with a focus on accountability, is described. An evaluation of 15 pilot-test school districts in the Arizona Career Ladder Project reveals the existence of a major discrepancy between meeting program requirements and achieving program success. A theoretical model of…

This three-part report is the result of an examination and evaluation by a team of invited academic examiners of Norway's educational system and of the changes which have taken place in that system since 1974. The examiner's report (part 1 of the document) notes several priority needs relating to the strong Norwegian movement towards…

In September of 1989, a working conference was held to launch a decade-long effort to provide leadership in implementing the school reform movement. This report contains the position statements and the Association of State Supervisors of Mathematics (ASSM) national action agenda for the following five spheres of influence: (1) "An Environment…

This digest describes the organization of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and what is included in a typical NAEP assessment. The way in which the NAEP selects students for assessments and how the assessments are used are discussed. The NAEP is a congressionally mandated project of the National Center for Education…

This study describes and analyzes the Section 143 Migrant Education Interstate and Intrastate Coordination discretionary grants program from 1981-86. The program's funding mechanism changed fully from grants to contracts in fiscal year 1987. The study was designed to address the following broad research topics: (1) determination of inter- and…

Use of clustering methods with data from the 1987 High School Transcript (HST) component of the 1986 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is discussed in an attempt to persuade data analysts and researchers that they should be interested in problems traditionally turned over to samplers. Nearly all surveys used by the National Center…

The state profiles contained in this document are based on a 1989 survey of statewide or systemwide approaches to assessment and outcomes measurement in postsecondary education. All 50 states, the territory of Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia are included. A common format provides information on the following aspects: origins of the…

The conference reported in this document was attended by representatives of seven states (Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington). Participants focused on three key questions: (1) what are the issues and objectives behind assessment in each state? (2) what can be done regarding the implementation of…

An overview of accountability in public education is presented in this publication. Contents include a review of recent accountability efforts, an outline of a comprehensive accountability model, an analysis of accountability strategies, and a discussion of means for incorporating system indicators into the larger systemic framework. A conclusion…

Results of a 50-state survey of statewide or systemwide approaches to assessment and outcomes measurement in postsecondary education are presented. Respondents were members of the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) organization. The January-February 1987 survey of SHEEO academic and executive officers indicated that two-thirds of…

Reviewing the community college literature in the ERIC database, this paper examines determinants and studies of institutional and programmatic quality. Following a discussion of the contemporary debate over educational quality and its importance for the community college, determinants of quality are discussed in five categories: (1) measures…

Open-ended individually administered questions can ascertain whether students can reason about arithmetic problems. Free response test items are useful in assessing students' thought processes as they solve mathematics story problems. Since story problems do not state explicitly which arithmetic operations are required for solution, students must…

A number of higher order cognitive skills are used in the task of evaluating arguments. Such skills should be assessed because the ability to evaluate arguments is an important one in all subject areas. In addition, it seems reasonable to assume that these evaluative skills will be representative of those required by other cognitively demanding…

The current technology of computerized testing is discussed, and a few comments are made on how such technology might be used for assessing school-related skills as part of the National Assessment of Educational progress (NAEP). The critical feature of computerized assessment procedures is that the test items are presented in interactive fashion,…

Questions pertaining to beginning reading, success, and failure are addressed. The issues of concern are: (1) When reading begins? (2) What preschool activities seem to help certain children succeed as readers? (3) What characteristics and conditions are associated with reading failure in first grade? (4) What early experiences might help children…