In response to a prevailing demand for better quality education in public schools in Pennsylvania, procedures were developed to measure the adequacy and the efficiency of the educational programs in public schools. The objectives currently assessed are in the following areas: communication skills (reading and writing), mathematics, self-esteem,…

Defines and discusses instructional games in terms of their uses in education. Nine categories are suggested for assessing games: instructional development, skills development, perceptual development, development of social awareness, pupil's readiness, use, design quality, adaptability, and flexibility and validation. (MS)

Criteria for making decisions about eligibility and instruction assessment procedures are discussed. Key criteria for consideration include accuracy, efficiency, reliability and validity of eligibility criteria and methods. Factors in assessment strategies for instructional decisions include selection of general teaching methods, learning progress…

This pamphlet presents answers to the most frequently asked questions about the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP). They include questions about the history of MEAP, its costs, subject coverage, test validity, the type of tests, administration of the tests, and use of MEAP results. (BW)

The benefits of using essay tests rather than objective tests in professional education programs are discussed. Essay tests offer practice in writing, creativity and formal communications. Guidelines for using and scoring a sample essay test in biology are presented. (BH)

In response to the 1978 amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, many states have developed curriculum and assessment procedures for listening skills. A review of several states' listening objectives, however, indicates a lack of any universally accepted definition of listening. One model of communication that divides a person's…

Data from the Stanford Test of Academic Skills Level I, administered to 10,910 tenth graders in Hawaii in Fall, 1985, are analyzed. The purposes of this report are to provide information on the effectiveness of the mathematics program in the high school, including the identification of deficiency areas and recommendations for improving…

The first of the National Education Goals states that by the year 2000 all children in America will start school ready to learn. Pressed by demands for greater accountability and enhanced educational performance, states are developing standards and creating new criteria and approaches for assessing achievement. Calls to assess young children are…

Instructional leadership studies are plentiful but have many shortcomings, including lack of definition of key variables, problems of causality, overrepresentation of exemplary schools, and lack of validity and reliability in research design and implementation. Definitions of "leadership" and "instruction" are needed. There is…

This handbook has been prepared to address one specific problem: How can the techniques of program evaluation be effectively applied to produce useful information about the operations and impact of moral education programs in secondary schools? The handbook is divided into five chapters. The introductory chapter describes the background and…

Five papers presented at a symposium during the 1991 annual conference of the National Council on Measurement in Education explore the design, development, and implementation of the Texas Master Teacher Examination (TMTE) Program. Educational policymakers have begun to maintain that the professionalization of teaching can be substantially…

This technical manual describes the School Assessment Survey (SAS), a multidimensional questionnaire that uses teachers' perceptions to measure key organizational characteristics of a school. Developed to take advantage of recent developments in organizational theory and school effectiveness research, the SAS instrument can be used to identify…