A comprehensive assessment system is one in which three types of assessments: summative, benchmark, and formative assessments are routinely administered to all students in K-12 classrooms. The first part of this report summarizes the research on comprehensive assessment systems and provides clarity in terms of how each individual assessment type…

Divided into two sections, this report describes research on the range and degree of assessment of students' communication skills in colleges and universities and includes the following findings: (1) of the 384 respondents from college speech communication departments, 45 reported using large-scale, uniform testing of students; (2) these…

A generalizable systems-based needs analysis model was developed to help school district testing and evaluation offices evaluate current problems with their information processing systems and identify additional computer capabilities required to upgrade their systems. The model contains four main phases, namely: definition of the department…

Thirteen evaluation methods are analyzed by orientation. Typically, clients want politically advantageous studies; evaluators prefer questions-oriented studies; audiences favor a values orientation. Evaluators must recognize the narrow scope of question-oriented studies and the perspectives of client and audience. (CP)

This report concerns the governance of the structure of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), especially the law and the role of the Assessment Policy Committee (APC). The major sources of evidence include interviews with APC members and National Institute of Education (NIE) staff, minutes of APC meetings and historical documents…

Rasch methodology facilitates effective achievement comparisons to meet evaluation needs at the district, school, classroom, and individual levels. The five-year District Gains Graph developed by the Portland (Oregon) Public Schools charts fall-to-spring achievement gains in basic skills for Grades 3-8, as measured by the Portland Achievement…

Practical and technical advice is provided for staff responsible for planning evaluations of Educational Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA) Chapter 1 migrant programs at the state level. The report is limited to evaluating achievement gains in basic skills; this is, however, acknowledged as only one facet of a comprehensive migrant program…

Emphasized in this speech are the innovative practices in the standardized foreign language testing programs sponsored by the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) and the Modern Language Association (MLA). The CEEB projected listening and reading "composite tests" and changes in the French and Latin Advanced Placement Tests are…

This symposium included four papers about the administration of the evaluation of Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title I projects. The first speaker, Janice K. Anderson, presented a summary of efforts to coordinate evaluations so as to promote sufficient uniformity for generalizations across local programs, but permitting maximim local…

Florida state legislation has mandated the evaluation of its compensatory education programs. The Florida Accountability Act of 1976 called for minimum basic skills testing in grades 3, 5, 8, and 11 (subsequently amended to grade 10). In 1977, the Florida Compensatory Education Act mandated remedial programs for students performing below the…