This study reports on a large-scale implementation of Assessment for Learning (AfL) in a Swedish municipality. The implementation was founded on two principles: (1) teaching should be informed by educational research; (2) to be successful teachers' professional development needs to be based in everyday classroom practice. From these principles,…

Assessments labeled as formative have been offered as a means to improve student achievement. But labels can be a powerful way to miscommunicate. For an assessment use to be appropriately labeled "formative," both empirical evidence and reasoned arguments must be offered to support the claim that improvements in student achievement can be linked…

It is hard to overestimate the significance of the master planning process. The process is one of the most salient strategies that the Maryland State Department of Education utilizes for improving student achievement and closing the achievement gap. Until recently, many local school systems (LSSs) treated planning as a local endeavor that merely…

Offers consideration of the relationship between a responsive approach to the evaluation of educational programs and a personalized approach to the assessment of student achievement. Explores responsiveness as a motif for inquiry about program quality and student accomplishment, emphasizing the relationship between the two. (SLD)

The author presents a proposal that is roughly based on a contingency-based theory of evaluation developed in his book, "Evaluation: An Integrated Framework for Understanding, Guiding, and Improving Policies and Programs" (Mark, Henry, and Julnes, 2000). He and his coauthors stated in this book that social betterment was the ultimate goal of…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has been the subject of many evaluations during its history. Those evaluations are reviewed, focusing on external evaluations, and the influences of recommendations made in the evaluations are discussed. The report concludes that many of the recommendations of evaluators have been heeded by…

This four-part book discusses the relationship between school leadership and evaluation. The discussion centers on evaluation--a crucial component of leadership in the public schools. Part 1 analyzes recent demands for evaluation as a political value and as a destabilizing force. The school district's response to evaluation and the relationship of…

There is plentiful discussion about the importance of accountability, but much needs to be done to translate it into a manageable and credible system of ongoing feedback. In this book, evaluative inquiry is used in a way that balances attention between the investigation process and its purpose. The book is divided into three parts. Following an…

Elementary school principals rated attitudes and behaviors concerning the utilization of student achievement data: (1) commitment to influencing student achievement; (2) control in utilizing student achievement data; (3) use of data to evaluate programs and teachers; (4) effectiveness and accountability in use of data; and (5) principals' own…

Suggests an evaluative model for assessing the quality of a music program that asks questions concerning goals and objectives, leadership of the program, staffing, curriculum and scheduling, instructional materials, and learning outcomes. Advocates the guidelines proposed by the Music Educators National Conference (MENC) in assessing what…

Schools that are concerned with evaluating their programs need more than just the average scaled assessment scores from standardized tests. To help schools, the Massachusetts Educational Assessment Program produces school and district reports that contain the stories behind the averages. These reports describe the kind of students who took the…

This guide presents ways for practitioners to use Chapter 1 achievement data to better understand and evaluate elements of a Chapter 1 program. A variety of types and levels of questions can be addressed with achievement data. Combining standardized achievement test scores with data from the program and from the regular classroom greatly increases…

This report describes a project undertaken at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) between January 1, 1982 and March 31, 1984, which was designed to increase the use in program assessment and in program improvement of information derived from measures of: (1) student achievement in general education; (2) student achievement in the major…

This guidebook shows how school district personnel from many areas--curriculum, instruction, supervision, staff development--can coordinate their activities to focus on instructional improvement. It reveals how data derived from tests, when properly used, can be useful in helping district personnel work with school and community people to assess…

Factors which appear to affect learning are reviewed: student characteristics of age, ability, and motivation; amount and quality of instruction; home and classroom environment; peer influence; television; school and principal effects; and financial expenditures. (GDC)