Statewide exit examinations play an important role in discussions on school effectiveness. Referring to educational governance concepts, this paper presumes a relation between varying organizational structures of statewide examinations across states, and heterogeneous effects on school actors. It is assumed that their ability to affect work in…

With the increasing popularity of peer assessment as an assessment tool, questions may arise about its measurement quality. Among such questions, the extent peer assessment practices adhere to standards of measurement. It has been claimed that new forms of assessment, require new criteria to judge their validity and reliability, since they aim for…

As assessment methods are changing, the way to determine their quality needs to be changed accordingly. This article argues for the use Competence Assessment Programs (CAPs), combinations of traditional tests and new assessment methods which involve both formative and summative assessments. To assist schools in evaluating their CAPs, a…

This study examines how different stakeholders experience the quality of a nationally developed assessment framework for summative, competence-based assessment (CBA) in AVET, which aims to reflect theoretical characteristics of high quality CBAs. The quality of two summative CBAs, based on this national framework, is evaluated along an extensive,…

The assessment of students is used for various different purposes within an assessment system. It has an impact on students, teaching and the curriculum, the nature of this impact depending upon how it is carried out. In order to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of particular assessment procedures, criteria need to be applied. This…

Evaluation audiences can understand evaluation reports if the reports are written in common language, use proper organization, and incorporate information which provides the audience with a context for understanding the report. Suggestions about how this can be achieved are offered. (Author/RL)

Post-graduate courses are periodically evaluated in accordance with not always very clear criteria by CAPES (Co-ordinating Committee for Teaching Staff Improvement). These criteria try to measure, among other things, academic productivity (including quantity and quality of scientific production), number of classes given by teachers, time to…

This article explores teachers in the units of high quality education in Finland. It focuses on three questions. First, What are conceptions of good teaching of teachers teaching in the quality units? Second, What do they consider important in their teaching? And third, What is the relation between teachers' conceptions and the criteria used in…

A model was developed to find out whether teachers can predict the success of their students on a specific test. Implications for curriculum development and changes in classroom instruction are discussed. (RB)

A cost-benefit analysis was conducted to assist the dean of UCLA Graduate School of Education in awarding a newly endowed faculty chair to the specialization which ranked "the highest in a benefits/cost sense." Advice is offered to evaluators considering using cost-benefit techniques in an educational setting. (Author/BW)

Responsive evaluation emphasizes continually changing factors: educational issues, program observation, consideration of different values held by involved groups, and needs of the audience targeted to receive the report. Preordinate evaluation, on the other hand, emphasizes formal goals, standardized measurement instruments, and values held by the…

There are five goal domains in early childhood education that are worthy of evaluation. Three criteria should be used in judging goal statements: intrusiveness (does the goal intrude upon a basic need?); worthiness (what makes the goal worth pursuing?); and source (where do the goals come from?). (Author/LC)

A rating scale was developed to measure the facilitative responsiveness of first year medical students. (BW)

Problems associated with current expertise in evaluation are discussed. Since evaluators are not always able to reliably achieve all levels of an evaluation project, these tasks are categorized into five levels of complexity. The author suggests a more accurate label for evaluators, "descriptive inquiry specialists," and includes guidelines for…

The considerable discrepancy between the quantity of publications dealing with evaluation theory and those describing empirical evaluation studies is detrimental to the growth of curriculum evaluation as a scientific endeavor. This journal stresses the practical aspects of appraising instruction, learning schemes and educational materials. (BJG)