Linking teacher treatment to student impact is not as straightforward as it may seem initially. The difficulties in measuring the impact on students are illustrated in this discussion of the Ohio Statewide Systemic Initiative (SSI). Since the inception of the SSI, the external evaluators had planned to use data from the state's proficiency tests…

As funds for supporting library and information services dwindle, librarians are beginning to recognize the value of evaluating and justifying their library in terms that the decision makers--those who control the budgets--understand. This book offers proven techniques for implementing a program that both promotes information services and dispels…

The Brigham Young University-Public School Partnership is cited as a good example of collaborative efforts in the National Network for Educational Renewal because of the length and nature of its history, which encompasses partnerships with five school districts. During the Partnership's 13-year history, informal evaluations had been conducted but…

This report describes how available measures/tests of employability skills were identified and analyzed to determine their suitability for evaluating the employability skills of students enrolled in Iowa vocational programs. Conclusions of this research are as follows: suitable measures are available for assessing the employability skills of…

Virtually every educator espouses a model of human learning that has evolved from or has been influenced by the research of psychologists. It seems that psychological knowledge has and will continue to hold an indispensable place in American education. The question of importance is whether school psychologists can elevate their status from one of…

This paper discusses the difficulties deaf and hard-of-hearing children (d/hh) have in test taking and the test-taking strategies they use, such as visual matching of words in the text to words in the question. These specific strategies are different from those used by children without disabilities. Also examined are the characteristics and…

Fifty-five information science educators, administrators, and specialists from 22 countries assembled to discuss and debate the following themes: identification of characteristics of work done in the information sector; analysis of the educational needs of the information professional; the role of information professionals in national development;…

This guidebook explains the purpose and rationale for initiating a portfolio process in the schools. A fundamental authentic assessment principle holds that students should demonstrate, rather than be required to tell or be questioned about, what they know and can do. The use of portfolios has gained significant attention as an alternative to…

In 1989 the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics published the "Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics" (Standards). This document provides benchmark statements about specific aspects of the curriculum and about evaluation against which school divisions can judge their own specific curricula. In the fall of…

This report provides direction for assessment policy and practice in employability and work force education and training programs serving youth and adult learners in Iowa. It provides a research base for the consideration of common assessment instruments for youth and adult learners in these programs. The report first identifies existing…

This report is a comprehensive needs assessment study that provides the foundation for a statewide adult basic education (ABE) accountability system in Iowa. Data from this study, conducted in 1993-94 by the Iowa Department of Education, were collected through a survey mailed to a total of 9,700 ABE program staff, community agency contact persons,…

Among the repertoire of clinical skills necessary for the professional development of medical students is the ability to create a positive doctor-patient relationship through effective communication skills. The purpose of this study was to create an instrument that reliably measures the relationship between physician and patient. The Relationship…

For the past 20 years, the University of Hawaii Community Colleges have had a formal process for the review of educational programs, requiring that each program undergo a systematic review at least once every 5 years. The result tended to be a lengthy document that chronicled the history of the previous 5 years and was far more descriptive than…

Several common sources of error in assessment that depends on the use of judges are identified, and ways to reduce the impact of rating errors are examined. Numerous threats to the validity of scores based on ratings exist. These threats include: (1) the halo effect; (2) stereotyping; (3) perception differences; (4) leniency/stringency error; and…

The Wayson School Climate and Context Inventory (SCCI) was used in previously reported comparative studies of six good high schools in Tennessee and Kentucky (three in each state). This study added data for three similar high schools in North Carolina to bring the pool of data to nine schools, making possible the determination of similarities and…