Professional assessment organizations almost universally endorse the use of multiple measures for making education decisions. In practice, however, the concept of multiple measures is defined and applied in many different ways, depending on how we answer two questions--What counts as a "measure"? and How are the multiple measures…

This discussion of the pros and cons of educational accountability and performance contracting comments on the educational and historical context of performance contracting and indicates some directions performance contracting will take. The author warns that since performance contracting is a new tool it must be used cautiously and with skill by…

This report quantitatively shows the progress of students in the area of general education development at College of DuPage (Illinois). The aims of general education are to promote students' understanding and appreciation of their culture and environment; to develop a system of personal values based on accepted ethics that lead to civic and social…

This technical report details the testing results and analyses supporting the evaluation findings related to the Austin (Texas) Independent School District (AISD) minimum competency graduation requirements. The graduation competency status of all AISD students in grades 8 to 12 are documented. The report provides additional information on the data…

A feasibility study has been conducted in Australia to investigate school and teacher objectives and practices in the development of oracy, to determine oracy skills agreed to be important, and to assess the feasibility and desirability of testing competence in oracy. The need for oracy assessment arises from a need for schools to account for…

The minimum competency movement's rationale can be reduced to four problem-laden propositions: the state through its schools owes every child an education; a high school graduate should be at least minimally competent; schools should be held accountable for seeing to it that every child meets this standard; and to assure this, every child must be…

The Mathematics Accountability Model (MAM) Project has succeeded in the development, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination of a completely individualized learning program for basic and higher order math skills. Student interest and achievement in the MAM Project are well documented exemplars of its success. It is recommended that the…

The Program Assistance and Approval System (PAAS) is an attempt to fulfill the needs of the 1978 Louisiana Educational Accountability Act regarding improvements in schools and/or educational programs. The system is designed as an onsite review to (1) determine the degree of implementation of program standards, (2) assess areas of need, and (3)…

Focusing on implications for teachers, this document reviews significant research and the current status of career education. The information is divided into eight sections. An introductory section discusses the criticisms of the education system which formed the basis for the career education movement. The next five sections contain brief…

Public distrust in schools should not be attributed to poorer schools or less able students; it exists because we have a different kind of parent and a different world ahead. Parents of today's children were trained not to accept the status quo, but to question; furthermore, underlying parents' concern about the schools is a fear that their…

A desire for greater accountability in the basic skills areas in the Wichita (Kansas) Public Schools led the board of education to establish a 58-member task force to study the situation. This document comprises the final reports of subcommittees in six areas of investigation: reading, mathematics, social studies, written composition, vocational…

This explanatory booklet describes basic statistical terms used, precautions to be considered in interpreting assessment data, assessment measures used, computer printouts containing local school data, and norm tables. Appendices contain a listing of Michigan school districts classified according to the community type they serve and definitions of…

This document, which is intended for curriculum managers at British further education colleges, presents guidelines for developing and implementing a college assessment policy based on the principle that the objectives of all assessment procedures and policies are as follows: enhance the assessment provision within colleges; ensure that assessment…

A systematic study of the composition and dispersement of Title I projects assigned to elementary schools in Philadelphia was conducted. Categorical variables were identified from four major derived variables (program density code, school aggregate fund, pupil service component, achievement-growth differential score) and four major demographic…

This guide is intended to assist local providers of Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) youth employment training in responding to new Department of Labor reporting definitions calling for a sufficiently developed youth employment competency system. The first two sections discuss the concept of sufficiently developed systems in generic terms.…