Using test results to align curriculum was studied in two applications with Chapter 1 programs. Curriculum alignment is the process of coordinating instruction so that a particular curriculum builds on skills students have learned in previous courses while providing skills for future success. In using test results for program improvement,…

Four kinds of measures of excellence are currently used in evaluating vocational education: components and process, occupational impact, equity, and individual student development. None of them displays the kind of precision that characterizes measures in the physical sciences. Furthermore, the nature of the enterprise to which these measures must…

This handbook describes a workshop designed to help administrative personnel improve school system writing programs. The handbook contains agendas for one-day and two-day workshops, and modules that provide (1) a case study of a writing program coordinator; (2) a discussion of the basic elements of a writing program, including program philosophy,…

The aim of this paper is to indicate how Project Follow Through can contribute to a better-integrated and rationalized federal programming strategy. The first section identifies areas in which federal programs have consistently succeeded or failed and presents reasons why those outcomes are probably the inevitable results of the policy tools that…

This report discusses five issue areas in which it is believed substantial improvements in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) might be achieved. The unifying themes among these issues are to increase the visibility of NAEP, its relevance to policymakers, and its utility to state and local agencies. The first of five substantive…

The Program Standards Evaluation System was developed in response to evaluation requirements in the 1973 Rehabilitation Act. The system includes procedures for using standards data to monitor and evaluate vocational rehabilitation (VR) service outcomes and outputs as well as standards on key procedural issues. This report contains the outlines of…

The Program Standards Evaluation System was developed in response to evaluation requirements in the 1973 Rehabilitation Act. The system includes procedures for using standards data to monitor and evaluate vocational rehabilitation (VR) service outcomes and outputs as well as standards on key procedural issues. This report, which is Appendix A of…

Formative and summative evaluations in education are compared, and appropriate uses of these methods in program evaluation are discussed. The main purpose of formative evaluation is to determine a level of mastery of a learning task, along with discovering any part of the task that was not mastered. In other words, formative evaluation focuses the…

A hearing was convened to investigate health care issues affecting children. Witnesses provided information about the way in which the health care system meets the needs of children in the United States. Components of the system include Medicaid for low-income children, the Maternal and Child Health block grant program, employer-sponsored health…

Since the passage of the National Apprenticeship Act in 1937 apprenticeship has remained a totally voluntary program, the costs of which are covered by the program sponsor (either an employer, a joint labor-employer sponsor, or a government agency). As of 1988, there were about 325,000 apprentices in training and another 55,000 in the armed…

This presentation considers the need to rename and reorganize the traditional paradigm that governs the organization and implementation of undergraduate and graduate teacher education programs. Two particular components of the preparation paradigm--the academic component and the professional preservice component--are given particular attention.…

To respond to the need for information about states' provision of child care services to state employees, the National Conference of State Legislatures conducted a 50-state survey on the status of state employee child care. The survey's purpose was to quantify state efforts to increase the affordability, availability, accessibility, and quality of…

Major resources exist that can be used to develop or upgrade programs in community colleges and technical institutes that educate robotics/automated systems technicians. The first category of resources is Economic, Social, and Education Issues. The Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) report, "Automation and the Workplace," presents analyses of…

Modern aircrew training devices (ATDs) are equipped with sophisticated hardware and software capabilities, known as advanced instructional features (AIFs), that permit a simulator instructor to prepare briefings, manage training, vary task difficulty/fidelity, monitor performance, and provide feedback for flight simulation training missions. The…

To examine programs currently in place, an evaluation model was designed to insure inclusion of all those who have a stake in program performance. The evaluation design includes: (1) a set of researchable questions which are to be answered by the evaluation, each question referenced to one or more appropriate audiences; (2) for each question, the…