Working out assessment philosophy and practices takes time, as the team members working on the "Competent Children" research project in New Zealand have found out during the first 18 months of the project. It is imperative that those with expertise in early childhood care and education insist on developmentally appropriate assessment…

The National Council for Vocational Qualifications (NCVQ) was formed after a 1986 review of the system for certifying vocational qualifications in the United Kingdom and charged with the task of reforming the existing system. The following are among the NCVQ's major achievements to date: establishment of a framework of achievement levels to which…

This paper describes a framework for studying and evaluating learning environments which contextualize school science content within a larger real-world scientific endeavor, such as carrying on a space mission. A central feature of this framework is its incorporation of recent research on content-specific personal interest. This framework was…

During the last few years, there has been a general emphasis in higher education on quality issues and the use of outcomes measures to assess institutional effectiveness. The quality emphasis in education suggests that previously defined performance standards are met through a review of outcomes assessment. This emphasis on outcomes measures…

This study examined the relationship of satellite distance education receive-site facilitator knowledge and practices to student achievement in a satellite distance education course. The specific areas of interest were: (1) facilitator knowledge about the satellite telecommunications delivery system; and (2) facilitator practices for enhancing…

This manual describes the results of a 3-year research project at George Washington University (District of Columbia) called the Assessment as Intervention Project, which explored approaches to parent-sensitive developmental follow-up for prematurely born infants who received neonatal intensive care and their families (N=25). After an…

This report includes a collection of workshop materials which address ways microcomputers can be used in evaluation and assessment and what basic information should be covered in introducing newcomers to the use of microcomputers. It is designed for use by experienced trainers with microcomputer experience but with few workshop support materials.…

A survey of 33 academic libraries in Louisiana was conducted in the spring of 1983 to determine the techniques used during the 1981/82 academic year to impart bibliographic or library instruction to students and faculty. A total of 27 responses were received. It was found that all but five of the respondents had a library instruction program; the…

This address by the Oregon State Superintendent of Public Instruction presents proposals for achieving educational excellence. The introduction to the plan briefly discusses the state of school finance, the upcoming property tax relief vote, and the interest indicated in national reports for accelerating school improvement. The eight proposals…

This report outlines specifications for the online transaction monitoring and questionnaire administration features of the University of California's (UC) Prototype On-Line Catalog, known as MELVYL. The development and testing of these features by the UC Division of Library Automation (DLA) is also described. This document is the final report…

A description of ecologically valid, authentic, and integrated performance-based assessment instruments of different lengths was undertaken to measure the extent by which students meet Connecticut's Common Core of Learning (CCL) objectives. The description focuses on the students' knowledge and general understanding of science and mathematics;…

Defining a telecourse as a series of lessons presented through the medium of television, this paper outlines four uses of telecourses and describes three different options for telecourse design: (1) use of commercially-available materials; (2) use of professor-developed materials; and (3) a combination of the two. Focusing on the…

The process being used by the University of Montevallo (Alabama) to evaluate the outcomes of its general education program is presented. Emphasis is on the triangulation procedure used to evaluate the validity of the outcome measure selected--the College Outcomes Measures Project (COMP) Test of the American College Testing Program (1984). The…

The institutional assessment model described in this report is used by Florida Community College at Jacksonville (FCCJ) to collect current information needed to update the goals of service and instructional units, identify opportunities for improvement and growth, and assess the resources of the college. The first sections of the paper explain the…

The purposes of this study were to determine (1) whether or not the participants of the program demonstrated significant gains in knowledge and attitudes as a result of the courses; (2) whether the gains persisted over time; and (3) if there was an associated increase in the participants' proclivity to do science which was also stable over time.…