A RAND research team conducted a broad review of the general literature on the assessment of quality and productivity in education and professional development. The team also reviewed the documentation of organizations engaged in such assessment, interviewed experts, attended conferences, and conducted site visits to exemplary organizations. This…

This digest considers the use of performance assessment within outcomes-based accountability systems for students with and without disabilities. Application of performance assessment to students with disabilities involves defining the outcomes, developing performance standards, developing assessment accommodations, and scoring. Implications of…

This ERIC curriculum package is intended to help people use the ERIC database, and may be used in a workshop setting under the guidance of a trainer or independently by individuals who want to learn about the ERIC system and how they can search the database and use its contents and services. The package consists of the following parts: (1) a…

Instructional development provides a procedure and framework for systematically planning, developing, and adapting instruction based on identifiable learner needs and content requirements, a process essential in distance education. Although instructional development models and processes abound, the majority follow the same basic stages of design,…

Current assessment practices in the classroom can affect the movement toward a child-centered curriculum in mathematics education. The mathematical community is addressing the challenge to implement standards in the areas of testing, assessment, and accountability in order to maintain this movement. This digest: (1) discusses what makes current…

One of the main obstacles to effective faculty evaluation is the inability to reach consensus on the evaluation's intended purpose. On one hand, faculty evaluation has a formative purpose, supporting faculty development, growth, and self-improvement, while it also has a summative purpose in that it provides data to make personnel decisions on…

A guide is designed for elementary school teachers with handicapped students in their classrooms. Seven sections comprise the document. Section I discusses the implications of mainstreaming for classroom teachers. Discussed are 1) the physical and social isolation of the handicapped students in the 1960s; 2) the impact of Public Law 94-142 which…

This guide provides information about how middle schools can promote the development and education of adolescents, especially about how they can focus students' attention on career opportunities and training. It also offers families some ideas about how they can encourage their children's career awareness, and it presents some criteria for parents…

This digest focuses on going beyond multiple choice testing to the development of methods for assessing complex knowledge and performances. Newly designed assessment systems must accurately measure and promote the complex thinking and learning goals that are known to be critical to students' academic success and their eventual sustained…