Investigated the effect of grammatical and discourse features on rater perceptions of writing quality in evaluating foreign language writing samples. Also investigated differences in rating profiles between native and nonnative speaking raters. (Author/VWL)

The impact of overall test length and difficulty on the expert judgments of item performance by the Nedelsky method were studied. Five university-level instructors predicting the performance of minimally competent candidates on a mathematics examination were fairly consistent in their assessments regardless of length or difficulty of the test.…

Program evaluation has long been used to reveal program characteristics, merits, and challenges. While providing information about program effectiveness, evaluations can also ensure understanding of program outcomes, efficiency, and quality. Furthermore, evaluations can analyze and examine a program's political and social environment as well as…

In this paper, the author describes, from a personal standpoint, the highlights of her most relevant studies on the topic of reform and resistance in mathematics education. Having moved from being a working-class kid to a tenured professor, the author hopes that by sharing her observations and advice, others on a similar path might have a smoother…

The National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) adopted mathematics achievement standards on May 11, 1991 that will be used to report results on the 1990 assessment of mathematics. NAEP achievement levels are descriptions, based on informed judgments, of what students should know and be able…

This report presents the results of an initial, iterative performance standards-setting (SS) task of a comprehensive on-the-job statewide teacher assessment system--the System for Teaching and Learning Assessment and Review (STAR). The 1990-91 STAR assesses and makes inferences about the quality of teaching and learning on sets of assessment…

This paper presents the results of ongoing analyses of the reliability of the System for Teaching and Learning Assessment and Review (STAR) as a comprehensive measure of classroom teaching and learning for making teacher certification decisions. Focus was on the effects of high stakes assessment conditions for certification on the generalizability…

This paper reports the results of a qualitative evaluation of the Chapter 1 Program Improvement Workshop Series--Level II, funded by the Educational Testing Service, Technical Assistance Center (TAC), for Region 3. Focus is on the role of commitment in influencing change. The methodological approach, advocated by M. Q. Patton (1986), focuses on:…

Administering measures of students' ethical orientation at various points in the education of business students would be helpful in determining the affective impact of the curriculum. Procedures for eliminating item bias and maximizing the validity and reliability of such measures are discussed and illustrated through actual data collected in the…

This training manual consists of two major sections: a "Handbook for Conducting an Elementary Program Review" and the "Elementary Program Quality Criteria" document. The handbook is designed to assist a program review team in (1) judging the effect of curriculum, instructional methodologies, and effectiveness strategies on…

After outlining the 1984 activities and results of the Center for the Study of Evaluation's (CSE's) Evaluation Productivity Project, this monograph presents three reports. The first, "The Administrator's Role in Evaluation Use," by James Burry, Marvin C. Alkin, and Joan A. Ruskus, describes the factors influencing an evaluation's use…

There is a continuing need in evaluation research for the establishment of a relationship between evaluation findings and decision making. A method is proposed for a particular situation: annual funding decisions for projects in a large grant program in vocational education. Outcome and predictive impact variables were ranked by three groups of…

Traditionally, most rehabilitation centers have evaluated a clients' vocational skills on an individual basis. Individually administered work samples, however, may not provide as much individual attention to the assessment process as is usually assumed. Two types of group work sample evaluation systems have been developed: the Valpar Work Sample…

Evaluation of educational personnel presents problems to both the evaluators and those evaluated, maintains this publication. In spite of these problems, respondents from more than 400 school systems replying to a survey indicated that their systems had evaluation procedures. The author suggests that the true challenge to school administrators is…

A set of 13 key characteristics is presented as a framework for educational evaluation studies: (1) program's stage of development when evaluator is appointed; (2) program's openness to revision; (3) program uniformity from site to site; (4) specificity of program objectives; (5) evaluator's independence; (6) evaluator's orientation to value…