The Chapter 1 Program Improvement Project of the Portland (Oregon) Public Schools was designed to provide technical assistance to schools in order to facilitate program change and improve student achievement. The project was a joint effort by the Technical Assistance Center of the Northwest Regional Educational Center and the Portland District…

This report by the Superintendent of schools in Washington, D.C., describes the activities and progress of the school system for the year 1986-87. It is the 21st largest school district in the United States, and one of the most culturally diverse. Progress is reported on all levels, with particular attention to the computer literacy program, which…

This study, which resulted in a revised music curriculum for the Snohomish, Washington, School District, addressed the problem of relating the measurement and evaluation of students in music courses to established student learning objectives. Part 1 establishes student learning objectives based on a proposed curriculum for a comprehensive K-12…

A study was conducted to determine whether the strategies and tactics employed in the implementation and continuation of well-established honors programs at selected community colleges followed the five stages that Martorana and Kuhns identified as phases in the life cycle of academic innovation (i.e., exploration, formulation, trial, refinement,…

Legitimate external groups that seek accountability for educational outcomes are identified, and attention is directed to choices for designing an institutional assessment, as well as principles to guide institutions' response to accountability demands. Appropriate domains of accountability include: (1) the authority of state government to…

The Colorado Department of Education undertook the establishment of an educational quality database that would contain the information necessary for measuring the effects of various efforts at educational improvement. Five major planning concerns had to be resolved before the database itself could be established. First, it was determined that…

Four papers from a 1981 conference in England on the management of quality in further education are presented. In "The Management of Quality," Tim Brighouse discusses quantitative versus qualitative measurement of quality in further education advisory input, self-evaluation, leadership, and inservice education. In "Staff…

This publication contains some of the open-ended art exercises used by the National Assessment of Educational Progress in its 1978-79 assessment of the art ability of students ages nine through 17. The objective is to provide classroom teachers easy access to released and tested art assessment materials. The open-ended exercises required students…

The handbook on progress evaluation was prepared for workshop participants. The Center for the Study of Evaluation (CSE) conducts a series of workshops for administrators and other evaluation team personnel. Specific exercises and activities are suggested using the five stage evaluation model. The phases are needs assessment, program planning,…

The National Consortium on Testing undertook a case study of South Carolina's competency testing program. The Basic Skills Assessment Act (BSAA) passed in 1978 provided for the Basic Skills Assessment Program (BSAP). This program seemed a progressive approach because it is keyed to particular educational objectives. It is being implemented…

A number of forces are likely to contribute to future issues in educational assessment: (1) reduction in government resources, (2) financial pressures broadening the diversity of post-secondary applicant pools; (3) adult student emergence at the post secondary level; (4) concern with accountability of schools and educators; (5) strengthening of…

The 1982 writing objectives presented in this booklet were developed in preparation for the fourth assessment of writing conducted by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The objectives are based on the premise that individuals write for a purpose and an audience, and each objective serves as a section of the booklet. The first…

The evaluation of bilingual education programs is complicated by such factors as the diversity of evaluation methodologies and program goals and the reliability of instruments for minority language students. Three bilingual program evaluations in foreign countries are described in terms of their different contexts and approaches in order to raise…

Six ways of viewing educational adequacy, the financial implications of these six definitions, and the political and economic bases for utilizing particular concepts of adequacy in the context of an American-style democracy are considered in this document. According to the definitions, educational adequacy can be measured in terms of the amount of…

To help reduce the needs of educational administrators, policy analysts, and evaluators for original research, this bibliography identifies 65 public data resources that provide current and historical information relevant to educational policy issues. For 15 primary sources the document provides the title, full bibliographic reference, and an…