This report documents two distinct stages of decision-making regarding new charter school proposals. The first is a "development" decision which includes the following: (1) further study of a new charter school; (2) considering participation in a charter consortium; or (3) study of a federal Charter Schools Program grant or subgrant for…

A survey of 190 California directors of special education was conducted to investigate procedures used for evaluating special education teachers. In summary, a few districts had established distinct guidelines for the evaluation of special education teachers. (SB)

This study attempted to identify efforts to evaluate programs for gifted and talented students in 122 Texas school districts and to compare these practices with those recommended in the literature and with Texas Education Association guidelines. Areas examined included informal and formal assessment of student and teacher identification practices,…

The types of teacher evaluation instruments used in Tennessee's public school systems during 1982-83 were reviewed to determine how they related to other district characteristics. Districts were categorized according to whether they (1) negotiated teacher contracts, (2) spent above the state median per pupil, (3) paid teachers above the state…

Illinois assessment personnel (N=579) completed a survey designed to shed light on which professionals use tests, which categories of children are most frequently tested, and which tests are usually used and for what purpose. (Author/SBH)

A stakeholder approach was used in the development of a statewide educational performance monitoring system in Virginia--the Educational Performance Recognition program. Stakeholder groups included teachers, superintendents, school board members, and education group representatives. Responses of 58 stakeholders surveyed were positive. (SLD)

This newsletter issue focuses on the subject of mandatory testing of prospective teachers prior to certification. The following questions are discussed: (1) What are the major types of teacher tests? (2) How prevalent are teacher tests? (3) What are the major teacher tests? (4) What problems do teacher testing programs address? (5) What are the…

Administration of the Student Achievement Diagnostic Questionnaire for Administrators to 1,278 Georgia teachers verified the instrument's utility for measuring several factors affecting teacher motivation, including teachers' attitudes toward principals, toward the utility of improving performance, and toward the nature of and the possibility of…

This report summarizes a doctoral dissertation that investigated the status of teacher evaluation practices in Arizona as of October 1974. Data were gathered through questionnaires mailed to the principal or chief administrator of all 774 public schools in Arizona. Respondents were asked to indicate the purpose, criteria, and frequency of teacher…

Heads of evaluation units in 21 state education agencies responded to a structured telephone interview about their unit's workload, evaluation methods, and associated problems and needs. Time committed to evaluation ranged from 10% to 100% and did not relate to staff size which ranged from 1-72. Eleven states contracted some of their evaluations.…

The Pennsylvania Educational Quality Assessment (EQA) is criticized for confusing the distinction between achievement and attitudes, the distinction between citizenship and conformity, and failing to incorporate moral education. For journal availability see annotation SO 504 171. (Author/DE)

This report discusses the outcomes of a study that reviewed various teacher supply and demand studies to investigate the impact of survey designs on special education personnel preparation and to formulate an agenda of advocacy for the future design of surveys. Results from the study of two national surveys, three state surveys, two association…

Concludes that teacher evaluations should focus more on teacher improvement, that there should be more student involvement in the evaluation process, that there should be fewer but more comprehensive evaluations, and that administrators who carry out the evaluations should be better trained. (FL)

Describes a survey that was conducted in Colorado to evaluate the results of an earlier project that provided training on the Internet to library personnel, assessed librarians' Internet use, and measured the effectiveness of librarians' training. A copy of the survey instrument is appended. (LRW)

A descriptive study examined how school districts in Texas identify students for dyslexia programs. Of the 300 districts surveyed, one-third responded with a long list of assessment instruments with no clear focus towards a definition of dyslexia, nor were notations cited accounting for discrepancies within learning achievement and other…