In many school districts, the pressure to raise test scores has created overnight celebrity status for formative assessment. Its powers to raise student achievement have been touted, however, without attending to the research on which these claims were based. Sociocultural learning theory provides theoretical grounding for understanding how…

The evaluation of a school improvement program for elementary schools (School Effectiveness Training) and for secondary schools (Secondary School Development Program) provided an opportunity to determine if user participation could increase knowledge use. It was hypothesized that program staff participation might be a solution to the dilemma of…

Recent commission and task force reports calling for significant improvements in American education are considered in this set of three papers, and methods for implementing the recommendations are suggested. In his paper, Glen Harvey reviews the reports, noting the extent to which they fail to consider change implementation research and commenting…

Recent commission and task force reports calling for educational improvement may carry more weight than their content deserves because of their sources. The findings of these commissions vary since each commission has its own concept of education, its own political purposes, and its own sources of data. Still, their general recommendations stress…

The purpose of the conference, "Wagging the Dog, Carting the Horse: Testing vs. Improving California Schools," was to discuss alternative perspectives on testing and evaluation in education and their role in improving teaching and learning. Four papers were presented: (1) "Using Educational Evaluation for the Improvement of California Schools," by…

The papers in this monograph address an issue of importance to educational policy and practice: the use of testing and evaluation to assess the quality of education and to facilitate school improvement. The authors consider the traditional role that testing has played in accountability and the role that assessment and evaluation can and should…

The image of school as a knowledge work organization provides guidance for improvement efforts which use suggestions from new management literature. A systemic reform should be based on the following: (1) professionalization of teaching; (2) integration of theory, research, and practice; and (3) transformational leadership. (Author/PS)

Argues that teacher in-service education programs should adopt an explicit standard for programs, value effects of in-service programs on teachers' needs for professional experiences, appreciate differences arising among schools and teachers in efforts to change educational practices, take a longitudinal perspective, and expand evaluation into the…

The current accountability movement in education is examined in terms of its historical antecedents and federal versus state initiatives and requirements. The assumptions underlying the educational accountability movement are then considered, and refinements and extensions to these assumptions are proposed. The accountability movement in American…

The evaluation process provides valuable information so that practitioners may share and benchmark their efforts to improve and enhance the quality of the educational reform initiative called tech prep. Evaluation should be part of every phase of a tech prep initiative, from needs assessment to completion. A tech prep program is typically at one…