Needs assessments are conducted with the expectation that the information obtained will be used to make rational decisions. A prior review of the anticipated utilization of needs assessment data and evaluation of the appropriateness of such utilization may prevent inefficient use of resources. A structured interview was developed to evaluate the…

A school of education faculty designed the Doctoral Portfolio as a device for assessing their doctoral students' competence in the tasks that professional academics routinely perform. Each student assembled a portfolio after the completion of a set of core courses and before the dissertation. The components assessed in the portfolio were: (1) a…

This report contains information on the 1980 Basic Skills Assessment Writing Sample that the New Mexico State Department of Education administered to over 1,000 tenth grade students. Sections of the report provide the following information: (1) background data and an explanation of holistic scoring, which was used in the assessment; (2)…

The book discusses the implications of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 on providers of health, education, and social services for the handicapped in the state of New Jersey. Among the aspects covered are a general overview; general provisions of Section 504; program accessibility; building codes; a model transition plan; employment…

This paper discusses evaluation design considerations for a computer based evaluation simulation developed at the University of Iowa College of Medicine in Cardiology to assess the diagnostic skills of primary care physicians and medical students. The simulation developed allows for the assessment of diagnostic skills of physicians in the…

Utilizing three different techniques, a follow-up survey of participants in a vocational education course was conducted to determine which technique collects the most useful information efficiently. The course participants were divided into thirds and, using the same questionnaire, data was collected from each third via one of the following three…

The process of implementing Goal Attainment Scaling at the Reno Veterans' Administration Center Mental Health Service, where it had never been employed and where most of the staff had never heard of the technique, is described. The difficulties of introducing a unique measurement instrument such as Goal Attainment Scaling into an existing system…

This project was one of four aircrew training development projects in a continuing study of the methodology, effectiveness, and resource requirements of the Instructional Systems Development (ISD) process. This report covers the Phase II activities of a two-phase project for the development of aircrew training for SH-2F anti-submarine warfare…

In February, 1976, the Education Policy Research Institute sponsored this conference on the use of tests in educational policy formation; these six papers were presented at that conference. In the first paper, Jenne K. Britell discusses four points that have historically characterized debates about testing; psychometric and technical issues;…

This program combines five distinct parts of the teacher training program into a unified experience for undergraduate social studies students. It offers some unique opportunities for ongoing involvement of university students in the improvement of their own instruction. Three academic courses in conjunction with an optional reading methods course…

In the early 1970s educational evaluation's fusion of respect for rationality, power to implement rational procedure, and an altruistic objective (improved instruction) appealed to educational researchers. Dealing essentially with closed systems, it measured program success by student performance on measurement instruments. Critics exclaimed that…

The details and process of evaluating computerized instructional materials are presented for the major classes of such materials, i.e., courseware--the set of computer programs with which the student interacts directly to learn--and instructional software--the instructional facilities, services, or general operations which include management and…

METHODS OF TESTING, EVALUATING, AND TEACHING READING IN THE FOURTH, FIFTH AND SIXTH GRADES ARE DESCRIBED. CONSTRUCTION AND DESIGN OF EXPERIMENTAL TESTS OF VARIABILITY IN READING SPEED ARE DISCUSSED. DESIGN WAS BASED ON THE RATIONALE THAT A MEANINGFUL READING-TIME SCORE DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE SUBJECT'S PURPOSE FOR READING. WHILE READING SPEED MAY…

The ways that Wisconsin colleges, technical institutes and high schools award credit for learning acquired through work experience are described. This guide was written after a statewide study of the policies and procedures of both postsecondary and secondary schools. Data were gathered in interviews with nearly every postsecondary school in…

Focusing on the problems of assessing the speaking skills of secondary school students, this paper provides one example of how those problems were addressed in the Massachusetts speaking assessment. The paper identifies four requirements for measures of speaking skills: (1) feasibility, (2) reliability, (3) validity, and (4) freedom from bias. The…