This monograph, part of a series on student assessment, reports on the results of a national survey that examined institutional support for undergraduate student assessment. The study provides a national profile of student assessment initiatives at associate of arts institutions and compares it to assessment practices and support patterns found in…

The literature on issues of the reliability and validity of objective and performance assessments in vocational education and training was reviewed and synthesized to develop guidelines for procedures to enhance reliability and validity. The review established the following facts: (1) validity is determined largely through inferences made by both…

A study of 197 physically abused and neglected Greek children and their families found that family characteristics predictive of abuse included parents' own life experiences, mental health problems, bad marital relationship, and parental neglect of child's hygiene. A checklist was found to be effective in screening and in secondary prevention of…

Reviews research data to identify design criteria for a school-family policy system that includes evaluation of teachers' relations with families. Finds that evaluation of teachers' relationships with families is valuable to fostering school-family partnerships. Provides parent involvement policies to consider as fair criteria for evaluating…

Seven articles on the evaluation of high technology educational media are presented. Topics covered include hardware and software evaluation, acquired immune deficiency syndrome education, computer-based educational evaluation in the Netherlands, evaluation of educational television in Israel, broadcasting research, interactive video, and effects…

Specific guidelines for assessing the unique needs of migrant handicapped students include: identifying the student's language and cultural background, examining adaptive behavior, determining the student's medical needs, involving migrant parents, choosing appropriate assessment instruments, employing curriculum-based assessment, and establishing…

Briefly presents the results of an evaluation of a Hong Kong social skills training class. The class used Western-style training in that problem-solving skills, communication skills, relaxation skills, and assertiveness training were taught from a cognitive perspective. The evaluative instruments suggested significant improvement for the students.…

Describes steps in renovating information service tools: (1) review why organization exists; (2) refocus direction to keep in step with clients and environment; and (3) redefine client's needs. Old tools (books and journals) can be transformed via technology into new tools (full-text CD-ROM products and online interlibrary loan services). (JMV)

Libraries need to take a new approach to community relations and marketing to respond to demographic changes and users who need new competencies to compete in the job market. Highlights include improving access; collection development; programs and services; staff development and recruitment; funding; and evaluation of effectiveness of services.…

Early childhood educators and school personnel increasingly will be working with children and families from diverse economic, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds. While the student population is rapidly becoming diverse, the teaching force remains predominantly White and from middle-class backgrounds (Whitebook, 2003). This growing…

Most other nations have a very different approach to measuring academic achievement at the end of high school and signaling that information to universities and other interested parties. In Australia, Denmark, England, Scotland, Finland, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, and many Canadian and German provinces, for example, high school exit…

Objective: The purpose of the current study was to examine the practice validity of a new ecological assessment instrument for third through fifth graders in terms of whether it provided school staff with new knowledge about students. Method: Preassessment knowledge of school staff was compared to data obtained from 21 children and their parents…

Child sex abuse increasingly is recognised as a societal problem that can no longer be ignored. In this paper definitions, prevalence, trends, assessment, and available diagnostic procedures are described and critically evaluated. It is argued that the lack of reliable diagnostic procedures remains one of the main difficulties in dealing…

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of a screening instrument (the Swedish Communication Screening at 18 months of age; SCS18), derived from the Swedish MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory, in identification of 18-month-old children who will be severely language disabled by 3 years of age, the authors (a) analyzed which SCS18's…

In 1993, nine service expectations for Ohio's two-colleges and regional campuses were approved by the state Board of Regents. This report describes specific performance measures developed for the service expectations to equitably evaluate the performance of the colleges. Following a brief introduction describing the goals and advantages of the…