This report summarizes and further develops ideas discussed at a national working session held on May 23, 2014, to examine issues and options associated with initially classifying English learners (ELs). It is the third in a series of guidance papers intended to support states in large-scale assessment consortia that are expected to move toward a…

Education has a long-standing practice of turning worthwhile learning goals into lists of bits. One might even say that this practice is the original sin in curriculum design: take a complex whole, divide it into small pieces, string those together in a rigid sequence of instruction and testing, and call completion of this sequence…

While the evidence for the effectiveness of the use of stories in science teaching and learning is strengthening in current research and literature, the intervention itself, namely, the science story, still suffers from a lack of definition and conception. The purpose of this paper is to determine the amount of narrative relative to non-narrative…

This article explores issues involved in using assessments as a means of defining standards and encouraging efforts to meet them. It compares the European examination system with the present American testing system. It also considers issues that must be faced in defining learning domains in ways that do not encourage narrowly focused training on…

It is reasonable to argue that the members of a profession are the only ones who can directly address issues of accreditation. In the context of accreditation for international continuing education, it may be argued that professional organizations in continuing education cannot function as accrediting bodies except in the sense that they determine…

This document is intended to guide further education colleges and work-based learning providers through some of the commonly used tools, techniques, and theories of quality management. The following are among the topics discussed: (1) various ways of defining quality; methods used by organizations to achieve quality (quality control, quality…

This document presents and discusses the 12 family literacy standards for family literacy programs in Saskatchewan, Canada, that were developed during a 2-year process by Saskatchewan's Family Literacy Best Practices committee. The document is: (1) an educational tool to develop greater understanding of effective literacy practices; (2) a program…

European structures of qualification levels were examined through a review of reports on recent developments in Germany, Spain, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The examination focused on the following topics: the scope of the national frameworks; the definition of standards and qualifications; the definition of levels in…

This guide is intended to provide local agricultural education tech prep programs throughout Colorado with a framework for updating their own curriculum and developing articulation with postsecondary institutions. First, a primer to standards-based education explains the role of the following items in standards-based education in agriculture: (1)…

This document presents advice from the United Kingdom's Basic Skills Agency regarding developing local action plans. The first 20% of the document defines basic skills and discusses the following action plan components: (1) an estimate of the area's need for basic skills training; (2) a target to reduce the area's estimated scale of need; (3)…

This document contains papers from a 2-day meeting on identification, evaluation, and recognition of nonformal learning in the European Union. The following papers are included: "Identification, Assessment, and Recognition of Non-Formal Learning: European Tendencies" (Jens Bjornavold); "Why Measure Human Capital?" (Riel…

This document, which draws heavily on lessons learned during 11 years of the Southern Regional Education Board's High Schools That Work initiative, is intended to help state leaders review their existing system for assessing accountability in vocational education or plan such a system. The document begins with a discussion of the purpose of…

Recent trends and developments related to the structures of qualification levels in Germany, Spain, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom were examined in a quasi-experimental study that was part of a more comprehensive study on the same topic. The study focused on standards, qualifications, and classifications at the tertiary level of…

This paper examines quality issues in career guidance, counseling, and information services in Europe and elsewhere from a range of different perspectives related to economic, ethical, and/or effectiveness criteria. Selected examples from the European Union member states, Canada, and the United States are used to illustrate how quality is…

This document contains reports on the structures of qualification levels in Germany, Spain, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom that were commissioned during a study to identify trends and developments in the European Union related to national certification frameworks. Each country report examines the following topics: the history of…