According to accreditation and professional bodies, evaluation and grading are a high priority in counselor education. Specifications grading, an evaluative tool, can be used to increase grading rigor. This article describes the components of specifications grading and applies the framework of specifications grading to a counseling theories course.

Contract grading has achieved some prominence in our field as a practice associated with critical pedagogy. In this context we describe a hybrid grading contract where students earn a course grade of B based not on our evaluation of their writing quality but solely on their completion of the specified activities. The contract lists activities…

This essay responds to Jane Danielewicz's and Peter Elbow's recent piece on contract grading in "College Composition and Communication" (December 2009). I discuss the similarities of their approach to my own contract process, finding that we share a quantitative/performative method for grading. I also explore our differences. While they guarantee…

Defines and analyzes different approaches to contracting of foster care. The approaches are based on meeting standards specified in the contract. Using group foster care as an example, proposes a design for performance-based contracting that achieves intended objectives, yet is consistent with the values of the social work profession. (HTH)

An analysis of the Organizational Readiness Assessment Model, which was developed from research on the Arizona Pilot-Test Teacher Incentive Program: Career Ladders, a performance-based teacher reward system, is the purpose of this report. The model is composed of essential focus and support factors for educational improvement and success, which…

The goals and output evaluation to aid in the effective allocation of scarce resources at the University of Leeds (in Britain) is the focus of the book. The first chapter describes the purpose of the book, defines the terms effectiveness and efficiency, and presents the theoretical background of the study. The following goals and performance…

The contract system is made up of four parts: the actual student contract; the progress report; suggestions for accommodating special needs students in vocational and regular classrooms; and proposed guidelines for classroom teachers who have special needs students in their classes. (LRA)

Community enterprise projects link higher education students with the not-for-profit community and provide opportunities to acquire skills and competences not available in commercial experiences. Outlines personal and academic benefits to students, highlights benefits to communities and volunteer groups, and discusses competence assessment…

During the first 10 years of reforms, New Zealand schools had two kinds of inspections: assurance (compliance) audits and effectiveness reviews to measure academic performance and contributing factors. In 1998, accountability reviews were introduced to judge whether schools were satisfying their charter (contract) objectives. The program is…

A preservice teacher education course in educational psychology focused on students (n=67) taking greater responsibility for learning through exposure to a variety of learning experiences, including curriculum negotiation, peer discussion and teaching, learning contracts, self/peer/collaborative assessment, and critical reflection. Locus of…

Four experiential learning programs that are in the early stages of development are described. The report from the Consortium of the California State University and Colleges details the efforts of a traditional, decentralized system to introduce flexibility into the use of examinations for crediting prior learning. A description of a large,…