Reports the preliminary results of a research project that investigated the phenomenon of disorientation in hypertexts with middle school students. Presents experiences in setting up a benchmark for measuring this phenomenon and lessons learned regarding measuring the performance of people using hypertext technology in an educational environment.…

A literature review and telephone interviews with exemplar university staff informants identified benchmarks to assess the degree of reform at four doctoral-granting Midwestern universities. Data analysis revealed three themes: political, professional, and curricular. Universities' efforts ranged from unreformed and transitional to progressive and…

Defines the current core benchmarking and best practices information objective of the Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers for sharing benchmarking and best practices information to K-12 facility managers. A summary is presented on implementation strategies designed to assist K-12 facility managers in utilizing this information. (GR)

Within the context of the overall development of a range of assessment instruments for setting standards (language benchmarks) for primary and secondary teachers in Hong Kong, this article describes the origins of a project that developed the Benchmarks Test. Looks at the process of piloting, moderating, ratifying, and implementing the test of…

Compares the 1996 Canadian Language Benchmarks for describing English-language proficiency among second-language-learners with the International Adult Literacy Survey. Points to the potential for aligning the Benchmarks with other systems for describing adult competencies to enable more systematic integration of immigrants' experiences, skills,…

Addresses the challenges faced in developing a task-based language assessment instrument for adult immigrants in Canada that is accountable to the needs of diverse groups of stakeholders, including learners, teachers, and administrators. The test, the Canadian Language Benchmarks Assessment (CLBA), is designed to place adult newcomers in language…

This article reviews the results from an in-depth multi-site case study of 20 institutions examining approaches to student engagement exploring differences by mission. The research questions pursued were: Is mission related to distinctive approaches for creating an engaging environment for students? If so, in what ways? The results demonstrate a…

Recent studies have produced conflicting findings about whether test-based rewards and sanctions create incentives that improve student performance, or hurdles that increase dropout and pushout rates from schools. This article reports the findings from a study that examined the impact of England's accountability reforms and investigated whether…

Colleges and universities seeking to assess proficiencies in information and communications technology may wish to learn more about new assessment tools developed by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), in collaboration with higher education partners. This article describes the administration of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT)…

This article looks at policies of the British Government relating to teaching, the curriculum, and research and how they impact Theology and Religious Studies (TRS). It reflects on the use of Government funding to steer research outputs and to focus such activity on a small number of selected institutions. It further discusses Government attempts…

This article reflects on the implementation of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) at tertiary level, using the University of South Africa (Unisa) as a case study and the five stated goals of the NQF as the criteria for measuring the success or otherwise of the enterprise. A brief description is given of the initiatives at Unisa and…

The transformation from an industrial society to a postmodern knowledge society has given rise to a new set of values that are manifesting to varying degrees in modern organisations. Besides quality orientation, these include focus on teamwork and cooperation, democratisation of the workplace, fairness and equity in labour relations, and a respect…

Evaluation is increasingly taken as a public good, as an activity aimed at development and betterment. At the same time, evaluation is increasingly integrated in accountability movements and in institutionalized systems for governance. It is also embedded in a consumer-oriented New Public Management ideology. Against this background, it is high…

Community college strategic planning is becoming more learning-centered, grounded in the student experience, and open to change. As a result, facility planners are challenged to embody these notions in a college's strategic delivery plan: the systems and facilities needed to accomplish its mission and vision. This article proposes a new process…

This paper describes a survey of BioOne participating publishers that was conducted during the fall of 2003. In that survey, BioOne collected data from 18 not-for-profit publishers on circulation levels, scholarly output in terms of pages and articles produced, revenues, and expenditures. From eight of the publishers, complete profit, loss, and…