The purpose of this digest is to summarize major portions of the literature on assessment in counseling and therapy. In this collection of 32 digests, assessment is used to refer to assessment of clients as well as evaluations of program and counselor effectiveness. Recognized professionals have written about topics that are grouped into nine…

This Critical Issue Bibliography (CRIB) sheet focuses on performance indicators in higher education. Performance indicators are concrete pieces of information about a condition or result of public action that is regularly produced, publicly reported, and systematically used for planning, monitoring, or resource allocation. The resources in this…

This digest addresses the role of evaluation and its basic logic, and provides a description of how the field is structured. In order to reach evaluative conclusions it is usually necessary to establish or identify factual promises and value premises. To obtain the required kind of overall evaluative conclusion, it is typically necessary to…

This digest illustrates the variety of basic and theoretical issues in evaluation with which aspiring evaluators should be conversant in order to claim that they know the knowledge base of their profession. Coverage of the issues includes: the four steps in the logic of evaluation; whether qualitative evaluations are valid; whether it matters if…

Professional evaluation of career counseling programs is becoming increasingly important as funding becomes more limited and accountability more pervasive. This digest describes a Canadian approach used by an outside team to evaluate seven small career counseling programs. Evaluators addressed two basic goals: appraise the effectiveness and…

In this digest, "career counseling" refers to activities intended to improve individuals' ability to make career decisions. Studies have shown that career counseling helps individuals as much as well-developed psychological, educational, or behavioral interventions. But more studies are needed to explain this phenomenon; this digest…

Pending legislation for the reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act mandates the development of performance indicators or standards, which are also called educational indicators, quality indicators, outcome indicators, performance standards, and performance measures. There is general agreement that indicators or standards…

The amount of literature on program evaluation decreased in 1996, continuing a trend begun in the late 1980s. One exception to this is the literature on assessment. Another frequent issue is the technique of evaluation. Many examples of research on evaluation are from international settings, where accountability and evaluation appear to be…

Career counselors continually evaluate their work. Unfortunately, the evidence used to gauge success often is usually not considered valuative, is not documented, and cannot be used to back up claims of successful counseling. This digest outlines a new approach to evaluation. Since client-need determines counseling intervention, evaluation models…

This book provides a conceptual scaffolding and practical guide for educators and evaluators as they respond to the challenges of diversity in schools. It introduces ways to assess the capacities of various professional development programs, curriculum transformation projects, diversity initiatives, and study abroad opportunities to realize…

Accountability in career counseling is receiving increased attention. However, few organizations have specific guidelines for the delivery of career counseling. This digest describes a workbook, developed in Canada, which furnishes a practical, valuative approach for support organizations that provide career counseling services. The procedures in…

Career development in Canada has been gaining prominence over the past decade. This digest outlines the principles on which career development must remain focused. First, the meaning of "career success" needs to be reconceptualized. With companies downsizing, people need to be able to view themselves as successful, despite changing…

The need for faculty development, approaches to faculty development, and 16 postulates for a successful faculty development program are examined, based on a survey of literature of the 1970s. Among the reasons faculty development is needed are the following: decreased faculty mobility caused by declining university enrollments, financial problems…

To provide administrators and teachers with a set of essential elements and principles to consider in using inservice programs for school improvement, this document presents a model comprised of 27 dimensions identified as important elements of effective inservice programs. These dimensions were identified through a review of the research…

As career development becomes established in Canadian secondary schools, the pressure increases to use performance assessments to demonstrate both the effectiveness of programs and the soundness of instructional decisions. This digest examines issues surrounding performance assessments of career development programs. Performance assessments can be…