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.

The concept of accountability, or fixing responsibility for outcomes in education, is not new. As far back as 1912, administrators were responding enthusiastically to the idea of assessing teacher performance by objective criteria. Currently, the focus of the accountability movement is on evaluation. An evaluation procedure that would assist in…

Stresses the advantages of contract grading to both students and teachers. A sample contract defines behavioral objectives on various cognitive levels. (MH)

The edited presentations of the Accountability Through Evaluation Institute are given to provide insight into some problems and solutions regarding educational accountability. Presentations include "Educational Accountability" (Lee E. Wickline); "A Scheme for Evaluation" (Robert Armstrong, Terry D. Cornell, Robert Kraner, and…

A report on the Michigan project in performance contracting is presented. In contrast to the Office of Economic Opportunity announcement that performance contracting is a failure, the Michigan program has been successful in the initial stage of a major experiment (Texarkana Project). The state legislature has appropriated $22.5 million for…

This four-part manual was designed to help students successfully complete a program of independent study through Sinclair Community College's College Without Walls (CWW). Part I provides introductory material which details the characteristics of the CWW program that differentiate it from traditional degree programs. Part II provides a descriptive…

A discussion of the age of accountability in American education is presented. The point is made that this new element is causing many educators to think more precisely about their goals, how they can be achieved, and how they can determine the degree to which they have been achieved. State laws are appearing and school policies are being defined…

The central assumption in domain-referenced testing (DRT), as presented in this book, is that a domain may be determined which adequately represents a particular universe of knowledge. After a domain has been established, the technological and practical problem of using domain-referenced testing must be solved. This book contains a collection of…

Programs emphasizing the development of interpersonal skills have been incorporated into the formal educational structure at Empire State College, New York; this process is described and explained. Learning occurs in an individualized context which recognizes the cognitive, affective, and behavioral aspects of interpersonal competence. Student…