Community colleges are recognized today as critical links between high schools and four-year colleges. This paper presents a research model for understanding the transfer function and transfer performance at the level of the college. The model discusses the community college in terms of its capacity for institutionalizing functions and its overall…

This document reports Stage 1 of a study of quality assurance in nonadvanced further education in England and Wales. Stage 1 involved: (1) an assessment of the influence of external agencies and national examining bodies via a review of published documents and interviews with key personnel; (2) an exploration of the expectations and perceptions of…

Guidelines and resources for conducting a faculty evaluation were developed based on an evaluation project at Irvine Valley College (California). In the fall of 1989, eight instructors participated in a pilot test of evaluation through observation by two peers and the collection of rating forms completed by students. Participants also completed…

Forty-one readings are presented on the social ecology variables and interventions that characterize the life of persons with disabilities. The readings are grouped into six categories dealing respectively with background, assessment of student-centered variables, interventions relating to student-centered variables, program-centered variables,…

This guide aims to help rehabilitation facilities develop effective self-evaluation systems to improve quality assurance for supported employment. The guide proposes that quality be measured by emphasizing direct outcomes that meet consumers' specified needs and concerns in terms of decision making, determination of quality, and access to choice.…

Based on a successful project in Nebraska, this manual was developed for use in establishing a structured all-volunteer adult basic education (ABE) program in small communities or satellite locations. The greater part of the manual covers the various steps a volunteer leader should follow to establish this kind of program, beginning with a section…

This study describes the state of postsecondary assessment in Maryland, identifies cognitive or noncognitive areas assessed, investigates perceptions about the role of the institutional researcher in assessment activities, and analyzes information to guide the formation of an assessment consortium. The paper serves as a case study of the types of…

Excerpts are taken from published works, college curricula and handbooks, and other sources to examine the aim of colleges in terms of student outcomes. Written in outline style, the document begins by setting a context. Subsequent sections have the following headings: (1) What Outcomes or Characteristics Do We Think Our Students Will Need To Be…

The implementation of research design in studies on substance abuse education is discussed in this meta-analysis. Findings indicate that the quality of research design is constrained by negative feedback from evaluation stakeholders. This finding is applied to an evaluation of the Here's Looking at You, 2000 drug education program currently…

The book deals with the concept of quality of life for persons with mental retardation and developmental disabilities. Part I, "Quality of Life: Personal Perspectives," contains "A Dream for Myself" (Connie Martinez); "Reflections on My Quality of Life: Then and Now" (Nancy Ward); "Quality of Life versus Quality…

The English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) Teacher Institute, created in 1980, is a staff development program for preparing instructors to use ESL techniques and materials. The Institute is for beginning and inexperienced ESL teachers. An evaluation of the 1986-87 institute was undertaken to determine the institute's impact on instructors' abilities…

Methods for predicting specific college course grades, based on small numbers of observations, were investigated. These methods use collateral information across potentially diverse institutions to obtain refined within-group parameter estimates. One method, referred to as pooled least squares with adjusted intercepts, assumes that slopes and…

This issue of a quarterly newsletter focuses on alternative assessment methods in adult basic education. It is occasioned, as explained in the opening editorial, by the announcement of the requirement for use of the 1987 edition of the Tests of Adult Basic Education for pre- and posttesting of basic education students in New York City, beginning…

The intention of this report is to build a strong case for a portfolio approach to assessment of reading and writing during the middle school years. A portfolio is both a collection of the artifacts of students' reading and writing and a disposition toward assessment. This disposition is characterized by the belief that assessment must be…

The role of survey data in assessing teacher supply, demand, and shortage is illustrated through a description of the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) of the National Center for Education Statistics. This survey exemplifies a method that involves: (1) a sample survey; (2) representative surveys; (3) cross-sectional surveys; and (4) comprehensive…