The author's goals in this exercise were to use an Excel project to teach students about the effects of changing states of nature on critical path emergence as well as compare the impact of the PERT beta and triangular distributions on project completion times. Previous research into the PERT (program evaluation and review technique) beta…

Qualitative data offer advantages to evaluators, including rich information about stakeholders' perspectives and experiences. However, qualitative data analysis is labor-intensive and slow, conflicting with evaluators' needs to provide punctual feedback to their clients. In this method note, we contribute to the literature on rapid evaluation and…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) SLO-Based Grading Makes Assessment an Integral Part of Teaching (Nagy N. Bengiamin and Christina Leimer); (2) Editor's Notes: Assessing Assessment's ROI (Trudy W. Banta); (3) Assessment Plans: A Tool for Sanity (Shannon M. Sexton); and (4) Lessons from…

This fall, the nine states that finished as runners up in last year's groundbreaking Race to the Top competition will have an opportunity to reapply for a grant. The winners will receive a combined $200 million to help implement the bold education reform plans they developed last year. Many of the eligible states already have clear roadmaps toward…

The classroom assessment process can have encouraging results when it begins with "early assessment" that addresses student learning, as well as the social and emotional needs of student(s) in the classroom. This paper presents a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis for classroom assessment. It will review literature…

Increasingly, institutions of higher education are required to evaluate student progress and programme effectiveness through implementation of performance assessment practices. Faculty members frequently resist performance assessment because of concerns that assessment activities will increase workloads, reduce time for scholarly activities,…

In three structural priming experiments, we investigated temporarily ambiguous sentences such as "While the man was visiting the children who were surprisingly pleasant and funny played outside." Participants produced more transitive sentences following such temporarily ambiguous sentences than following unambiguous sentences that were…

Reflective learning is difficult to assess because it is subjective and emerges from experience rather than planned activity. The distinction between deep and surface learning that is used to assess critical thinking may be usefully applied in a questioning approach to the assessment of reflective learning. (SK)

Purpose: The purpose of the current study is to examine the utility of Six Sigma interventions as a performance measure and explore its applicability for making the training design and delivery operationally efficient and strategically effective. Design/methodology/approach: This is a single revelatory case study. Data were collected from multiple…

INFORMATION IS PRESENTED FOR STUDENT USE IN LEARNING PROGRAM EVALUATION AND REVIEW TECHNIQUE (PERT), A PROJECT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM USED TO PLAN, CONTROL, AND EVALUATE PROJECTS. THE MATERIAL WAS PREPARED IN THE IBM DISTRICT 15 EDUCATIONAL CENTER TO BE USED IN VOCATIONAL CLASSES. THE TECHNIQUE WAS DEVELOPED DURING 1958 BY THE NAVY FOR APPLYING…

TO ESTABLISH A COLLEGE IN 100 DAYS PRESENTED AN OPPORTUNITY TO TEST THE VALUE OF PROGRAMED ORGANIZATIONAL PROCEDURES USING PROGRAM PERFORMANCE EVALUATION AND REVIEW TECHNIQUE (PERT) UNDER ACTUAL OPERATIONAL CONDITIONS, NOT IN A SIMULATED THEORETICAL SITUATION. THROUGH THE AID OF THE PERT PLANNING SYSTEM, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THERE WERE NINE…

The shortcomings of current research on student attrition are reviewed, and ways are described in which multiple regression, path analysis, and a recursive causal model can be used to better understand attrition. A review of the research shows that past theoretical models lack an adequate definition of variables which have resulted in their being…

This paper explores the fault-tree analysis approach to isolating failure modes within a system. Fault tree investigates potentially undesirable events and then looks for failures in sequence that would lead to their occurring. Relationships among these events are symbolized by AND or OR logic gates, AND used when single events must coexist to…

Path analysis, a technique related to multiple regression analysis is used for ascribing causal relationships among variables. Path analysis involves the construction of explicitly formulated causal models and makes the reasoning explicit in the form of path diagrams and structural equations. Regression analysis is then used to construct path…