This survey of 34 primary schools and 5 local education authorities in Great Britain examined reactions to the pilot test of Key Stage 1 standard assessment tasks (SATs), as they related to special needs students. Teachers' criticisms focused on the overwhelming workload, questionable SAT reliability, and resulting decline in the quality of…

A study of a medical student clinical assessment program since 1986 at the University of Massachusetts indicates student awareness of increased faculty observation and increased feedback to students during and following clinical rotations. Results indicate a conscious faculty effort to improve students' clinical skills by improved observation and…

This study examined psychometric properties and usefulness of the Evaluation and Programming System: Assessment Level I (EPS-I) by analyzing validity, reliability, and utility data from 335 nonhandicapped, at-risk, and handicapped infants and young children. Outcomes portrayed EPS-I as a valid, reliable, and helpful instrument for developing and…

Reviews early history of Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE) through discussion of CORE's development, recognition, and foundation research at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Describes CORE's multistakeholder program evaluation process and discusses current trends and issues in accreditation of rehabilitation counselor education.…

Argues that science educators often face the problem of abnormal distributions when conducting large-scale assessments or evaluating national curriculum projects that require complex sampling plans. Examines the precision of science test scores. (DDR)

An instrument for measuring service quality was developed in Singapore's polytechnic libraries, based on previous work done in New Zealand. Focus groups of academic librarians reported on their understanding of service quality. Contrasts between the two instruments are examined. The time lapse between the projects accounts for some variation. A…

Reviews extant research on children's social skills, including their ability to modulate their feelings, their social cognitions, and their behaviors within the context of peer interaction, as measures of social competence. Examines definitions of social competence in light of assessments of children's performance. Offers policy recommendations…

Growing frustration with assessment practices in adapted physical education and confusion with more traditional grading has led to a call for authentic assessment, which measures students' performances in more natural, real-world settings. Within authentic assessment, rubrics provide detailed guidelines for making scoring decisions, offering…

Outlines details of key pilot projects on quality assessment in the higher education sector in Ireland. Discusses how the Universities Act of 1997 can ensure that emphasis is placed on the highest standards in teaching and research. (DDR)

Proposes a method of evaluating program efficacy based on data evaluating the school performance of 19 children, 14 with severe hearing losses, enrolled in an auditory/verbal early-intervention program. The evaluation indicated that 16 of the children were fully included in mainstream classrooms and 18 were using FM systems. (Author/CR)

Evaluated effectiveness of day-care center self-assessment materials developed in Britain. Found that over 80% of staff at 76 Hungarian centers thought the materials raised their awareness of quality issues, although the materials did not have a significant impact on quality of care provided. Identified key differences between services in the U.K.…

Identifies indicators of excellence in educational technology including hardware, software, integration, on-site support, administrative support, conference participation, use of emerging technologies, home and community connections, technology planning, and educational reform. (DB)

Introduces a set of papers in this journal issue that address outcomes assessment in engineering education. Discusses the reasons and methods for outcomes assessment. (WRM)

Students with emotional disabilities are attending institutions of higher education in increasing numbers. To assist counseling centers in their role of reviewing documentation for accommodation requests, suggestions are offered about who may be qualified to provide the evaluation and what information the evaluation should contain. (Contains 26…

Nine evaluations of projects of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) are described. Most are formative in nature, designed to improve the programs targeted and to increase stakeholder participation. Almost all were conducted in Africa. The descriptions of research methodology have many implications for educational evaluation. (SLD)