The field of special education, and specifically the area of intellectual disabilities, has undergone dramatic changes in terminology, evaluation practices, service delivery models, expectations for learning, career development, and independent living opportunities. "Guidelines: Intellectual Disabilities in Educational Settings" is…

There is a growing consensus that teacher evaluation in the United States is fundamentally broken. Few would argue that a system that tells 98 percent of teachers they are "satisfactory" benefits anyone--including teachers. The nation's collective failure to invest in high-quality professional feedback to teachers is inconsistent with…

Research has long been clear that teachers matter more to student learning than any other in-school factor. Improving the quality of teaching is critical to student success. Yet only recently have many states and districts begun to take seriously the importance of evaluating teacher performance and providing teachers with the feedback they need to…

Assessment and evaluation activities are an integral part of early intervention services. These activities culminate in written evaluation reports that include information such as observations of skills and deficits, diagnosis, and recommendations for intervention. However, few guidelines exist to help guide early intervention providers in writing…

Available resources and indicators of high quality inclusive practices are presented in this compilation. Assembling many different resources in one place allows for easy comparison of potential indicators of quality. Excerpts and adaptations of the resources are intended to provide some familiarity with the content of each resource and encourage…

This document is a tool to help teachers look at student work as a means to assess individual student progress. It contains work samples, accompanying commentaries, and assessment tools which originate from students and teachers in Philadelphia public schools who participated in the Philadelphia Education Fund's Small Learning Community…

The article describes an evaluation procedure that observes the child's ability to use specific learning strategies. By extending on and manipulating initial responses, the procedures help determine the amount of interaction needed to influence a child's performance and identify the kinds of instructional interactions that exercise control over…

To date, the assessment methodology in the area has moved in two directions: sociometric measures (peer nomination and peer rating scales), which have provided the major means of identifying the socially competent child; and direct observation, principally employed in the specification of socially competent behaviors. (Author/DLS)

It is the purpose of this manual to present suggested steps and procedures for use by individual onsite evaluators or by the Utah State Office of Education or any other similar agency charged with responsibility for arranging or conducting onsite evaluations. Although many of the examples used in this manual are drawn from materials developed in…

Six steps in the ecological assessment model are described, from setting goals to developing a learning plan, and factors such as the physical milieu and classroom patterns are considered. Methods and sources of ecological assessment data are reviewed. (CL)

An overview of the function of observation systems within the context of program evaluation is illustrated by summarizing observation systems used in evaluations of primary education, compensatory education, and Follow Through programs. (Author/CM)

To ensure due process in teacher evaluations, administrators should follow 13 guidelines, including making teachers aware of the school district's expectations and its evaluation plan, obeying requirements in contracts and state and local laws, and helping teachers correct their deficiencies. (RW)

Advantages and disadvantages of methods to evaluate sociometric outcomes of mainstreaming (sociometric assessment, nomination methods, rating scale method, paired comparison method, and variations on nomination and rating scale methods) are considered. (CL)

Techniques for evaluating the multiply impaired child's functional level of vision are described and a sequence of visual stimulation instruction for children with visual impairments is presented. (PHR)

The article describes the pilot testing of a direct observation procedure for observing social interactions of mentally retarded and non-retarded workers in supported work settings. The instrument was found to be capable of assessing such interactions and was readily utilized by practitioners. (DB)