The evaluation of academic departments at The University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign campus is described. Guidelines have been established by the Council on Program Evaluation (COPE), which is composed of faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students. The self evaluation is conducted within the department, and the results are analyzed by COPE,…

This paper attempts to provide a synthesis of the best available knowledge on ways to evaluate the effectiveness of foreiqn language programs. Procedures that have worked well are outlined, an evaluation model is suggested, and a list of specific guidelines, checklists, and other resources is provided. The results of a survey designed to get…

The interim evaluation of the Experience-Based Career Education (EBCE) Program of the Appalachia Educational Laboratory, Inc. (AEL), a community-based alternative curriculum for high school seniors, was not intended for general readers and its terminology is for that reason quite technical. The report's first section briefly describes the EBCE…

A review of the literature concerning the cooperative education movement brought into focus a number of key issues which helped direct the study effort. Based on that review, the purpose of the annotated bibliography was conceptualized as two-fold: (1) to familiarize the project team with the broad sweep of writings on cooperative education, its…

A project to develop instructional and evaluative procedures for special classes of intellectually gifted students in grades four, five, and six was developed as part of California Project Talent. Two demonstration programs were observed over a 3-year period; the two classes were all-day, full-week programs for children with an IQ of 130 or over.…

The formative evaluation of the curriculum, student attitudes, French achievement, and implementation of an elementary level core French program illustrates the usefulness of classroom observation and points to some general shortcomings in core French program content and teaching strategies. (MSE)

A project evaluated the quality assurance (QA) processes put in place by the English National Board from 1998. The Quality Assurance Framework (QAF) represented a shift of emphasis in audit activity from approval/validation of programs to continuous annual monitoring and review. The evaluation used a mixture of methods, including survey and case…

The purpose of this Guide is to provide Mathematics and Science Partnership (MSP) project officials and evaluators with clear, practical advice on how to conduct rigorous evaluations of MSP projects at low cost. Specifically, this is a how-to Guide designed to enable MSP grantees and evaluators of MSP projects to answer questions about the…

Analyzes the National Research Council's rating of political science departments and discovers the ratings reflect two general sets of characteristics, the size and productivity of the faculty. Reveals that the quality and impact of faculty research is more important than the overall output. Includes tables of statistical data. (MJP)

Lists the latest ERIC documents that describe institutional and state studies of community college remedial programs. Provides bibliographical information and a brief abstract of relevant documents. (YKH)

Outcomes are reported for youths with serious emotional disturbance receiving customary services from community mental health service providers who receive state mental health funds. Various outcome indicators for the Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS) are described, as well as a procedure for categorizing youths into client…

In the School of Education at the University of Adelaide, the use of oral evidence is increasingly common as students engage with reflective practices now dominant in teacher-education programs. These experiences offer both a dynamic perspective and a challenge to academic assessors and raise three questions, each of which are addressed in this…

A vast majority of the studies exploring the associations between student and school related factors and standardized test scores were conducted in developed countries. On the other hand, research suggests that the generalization of the findings of those studies to developing countries often leads to incorrect conclusions. The purpose of this…

This book by Sheryn Spencer Waterman follows the bestselling "Handbook on Differentiated Instruction for Middle and High Schools." With numerous examples and strategies, it is an all-inclusive manual on assessing student readiness, interests, learning and thinking styles. It includes examples of: (1) Pre-, Formative and Summative assessments; (2)…

Although the Angoff procedure is among the most widely used standard setting procedures for tests comprising multiple-choice items, research has shown that subject matter experts have considerable difficulty accurately making the required judgments in the absence of examinee performance data. Some authors have viewed the need to provide…