With the new school year now well under way, staff, students and families are still in desperate need of a clear strategic direction and set of tools for promoting equity and excellence in a moment of crisis. Nationally, we see school systems stepping up in new ways to provide this clarity, and seizing the moment afforded by these unusual…

Central to the mission of most educational institutions is the task of preparing the next generation of citizens to contribute to society. Schools, colleges, and universities value a range of outcomes--e.g., problem solving, creativity, collaboration, citizenship, service to community--as well as academic outcomes in traditional subjects. Often…

This document was developed by the Mid-South Regional Resource Center (MSRRC) and is designed to be used as an assessment of State systems by State Part B and Part C staff and their stakeholders. It provides a detailed process for State Education Agencies (SEA) and Lead Agencies (LA) to follow that will guide improvement efforts relative to the…

Evaluation is as basic to professional development as it is to education. Unfortunately, systematic evaluations of professional development programs are rarely, if ever, undertaken. Professional development has become polluted by extraordinarily presumptuous rhetoric about the intrinsic value of "development." In the recent flurry of…

The self-study process is seldom viewed as a central process of improvement and change. Experience at the Illinois College of Optometry, however, shows how the process can be regenerative to people and institutions. The process and its elements are outlined in some detail. (MSE)

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the capabilities and limitations of systems analysis as applied to the development of a program evaluation plan. A brief review of selected concepts in evaluation theory (Lee J. Cronbach; Michael Scriven; Robert Stake; Daniel Stufflebeam), a description of general systems theory, the development of a…

Describes evaluation experiences in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, School District. Suggests that use of evaluation results can be maximized through a systems approach that involves developing and monitoring different performance indicators, and tailoring educational practice by focusing corrective action on areas where performance is found to be…

The School Improvement Model of teacher performance evaluation is described, and its development is traced. Original work in the late 1960s in Naperville (Illinois) and subsequent work by Iowa State University and several cooperating school districts led to the development of a model of teacher evaluation that included multiple appraisers, student…

COPES (Community College Occupational Programs Evaluation System), established in 1971 as a cooperative undertaking of community colleges, is today the recognized system for evaluation of occupational education in California community colleges. In its fifth year of operation (1975-76) an assessment study focused on the basic system. Key objectives…

This book suggests alternative strategies and methods for construct validation, research, quality assessment of schools, and design and evaluation of new approaches to instruction. It is addressed to educational managers, educational researchers, and to faculty members and graduate students in education. The author deals with four problem areas in…

This document presents a brief overview of each of the following components of the system of state and local district evaluation of the Missouri Comprehensive Guidance Program (MCGP): program evaluation, personnel supervision and evaluation, and results evaluation. Appendixes constituting approximately 90% of the document contain the following:…

Studies of vocational education and training (VET) students' movement into higher education (HE) typically show that VET students granted admission perform at least as well as other admitted applicants; however, such students are often less likely to gain admission in the first place. A move toward competency-based training (CBT) and a concomitant…

Research on quality assurance (QA) in vocational education and training (VET) in Australia over the past 6 years was reviewed. Three factors responsible for growing interest in QA were identified: close connections with industry sectors that have gained from the introduction of QA measures; the more competitive training market that has been…

Alberta Learning was created in May 1999 to enhance the focus of the government of Alberta, Canada, on lifelong learning and equipping all Albertans with the information and skills needed to live and work in the information age. During its first year of operation, Alberta Learning focused on its core businesses of basic learning, adult learning,…

The recent history of apprenticeship in Great Britain was examined to identify the issues arising from the latest reforms and future expansion of the system. A team of university academics with strong research interests in training and skills collected information from a large body of academic work in the field of apprenticeship and training and…