This paper reports on an analysis of large-scale assessments of Grades 5-8 students' writing across 10 provinces and 2 territories in Canada. Theory, classroom practice, and the contributions and constraints of large-scale writing assessment are brought together with a focus on Grades 5-8 writing in order to provide both a broad view of…

Since 1969 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reports on the scholastic achievements of the nation's elementary and secondary level students have been appearing frequently. The reactions to these reports are a perplexing mix of acclaim and criticism, of expressed respect but apparently slight regard. This study assesses NAEP and…

Evaluated the effect of the League of Professional Schools, a democratic reform in Georgia, using performance measures from the state's educational performance measurement system. Performance of League schools was positive relative to several performance standards, but it was not possible to demonstrate that the League was a necessary component of…

An external evaluation of the impact of the Australian Studies in Student Performance (ASSP) Project on schools and systems is reported. The presented chapters follow in sequence the development of ASSP. The first chapter places the Australian Project in an international context and outlines the major questions dealt with in this evaluation.…

In fall 1987, a study was conducted at Lincoln Land Community College (LLCC) to examine the college's system of basic skills assessment for course placement. The study investigated the adequacy of established cut scores; placement evasion (i.e., the disregarding of a recommendation to take a developmental course) and its consequences; the use of…

In response to concerns that Title I, the largest source of federal funding for education, was not significantly improving the educational achievement of at-risk students, Congress, in 1994, mandated major changes, including changes to the ways in which states measure student performance. This report provides a snapshot of how close states had…

Eight criteria developed by the National Forum on Assessment (Washington, DC) as guidelines for evaluating existing and proposed assessment systems at any level are listed. Criteria call for clear definitions and fair assessments to assist educators and policymakers in improving instruction. Continuous review and improvement are recommended. (SLD)

A self-evaluation is provided of the Academic Advisement Center at Genesee Community College (GCC). Section I provides an overview of the center's development from its establishment in 1980, discusses results of a formal review of the center's work, and offers projections for the next five years. Section II describes the history of the program,…

The Tennessee Career Ladder evaluation system is a multiple-data-source system for evaluating teachers in order to provide them with merit status and benefits. This presentation is based primarily on data from 1983 through Spring 1986, and focus is on the functioning of the general education teacher appraisal system. Four of the 14 steps involved…

In March 1989, the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory entered into a contract with the Nevada Department of Education to develop this evaluation design for the Nevada Proficiency Examination (NPE) Program. The NPE program, mandated by state legislation, requires each school district to administer examinations in all public schools to…

This report describes the structure, format, and processes of Iowa's General Educational Development (GED) test center structure and presents the results, conclusions, and recommendations from an evaluation of that structure. The major purposes of the evaluation were to assess the effectiveness of Iowa's new statewide GED structure, determine…

This is the first in a series of reports on the educational progress of Texas public schools. It reviews the concerns that led to the development of the integrated accountability system now used in Texas and examines this system relative to those of other states. A major new research and evaluation effort, the Statewide Texas Educational Progress…

This report presents findings from the evaluation of the second year of the professional services agreement between the Detroit, Michigan, Public Schools and Sylvan Learning Systems, Inc. Under a contract with the school system, Sylvan attempted to improve the reading achievement of low-achieving students in 10 Title 1 schools. The program…

The Center on Education Policy (CEP) has been studying state high school exit examinations since 2002. This is the sixth annual report on our comprehensive study of exit exams. The information comes from several sources: our survey of states that have mandatory exit exams, interviews with state officials, media reports, state Web sites, and case…

A qualitative evaluation of the System of Multicultural Pluralistic Assessment (SOMPA) as implemented in a Colorado public school system is presented. The evaluation relies heavily on perceptions of participating administrators, and is very positive. (JKS)