This handbook presents reading materials for a distance education course designed to enhance an understanding of the nature of workplace literacy needs and to show how to develop and teach in workplace literacy and basic skills programs. The three reading materials presented in the handbook are: (1) "Developing and Evaluating Workplace…

Presents a broad overview of the assessment movement. Reviews several approaches to assessment including basic skills, general education, major, and student development. Considers the nature of assessment in the communication field. (KEH)

The Learning Laboratory component of the Department of Educational Program Support at the University of Wisconsin at Parkside was evaluated during the academic year 1983-1984 to monitor laboratory and material usage, determine from what areas students were referred, and identify their reasons for laboratory use. The laboratory was part of a…

The writing test at Colorado State University determines which students move from basic composition into the college composition course. Initially, all incoming students take a placement test similar to the holistically scored writing tests administered by the Educational Testing Service. This placement test, along with other information, provides…

The nationwide problem of declining communication skills is evident in the large numbers of students entering college with deficiencies in reading, writing, and speaking skills. This paper discusses the operation of a communication skills program within a college communication skills center which functions as a supportive resource service and…

In the first stage of a project to improve the general education offerings at Wayne State University (Michigan), the ad hoc committee on general education defined those basic academic skills that a general education program should promote. The process of defining and evaluating the basic skill of communication typified the process of defining and…

In 1974, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia created the developmental studies program in response to a growing number of entering freshmen who were inadequately prepared for curricula assuming mastery of the basic skills. Early attempts to evaluate developmental programs in Georgia simply used standard survey techniques to…

The special nature of remedial programs and the variance in definitions, components, purposes, and structures are discussed to help institutional researchers design program evaluations. The term "remedial program" is used to refer to any combination of courses, support services, testing, placement practices, and institutional policies…

Seventy-four students from basic reading courses were surveyed to determine if the courses helped them with the reading and studying they had to do in other areas. In addition, 58 "regular" students were asked to assess their reading abilities and reading and study skills needs. Results indicated that most basic reading students were satisfied…

The original impetus for this monograph was a grant from the New Jersey Basic Skills Council of the New Jersey Department of Higher Education to evaluate two college basic skills remedial programs (one in a four-year state college, one in a two-year community college) and to produce a handbook for conducting such evaluations. This monograph is…

Addressed in this book is the problem encountered by institutions as more students have entered colleges without adequate preparation in the basic subject areas--communications, mathematics, and science. To accommodate the diversity in the new student populations, varying instructional methods are required. Developmental education programs need…

This report provides a guide for the evaluation of programs of studies leading to the Diploma of College Studies (DEC) in the Business Administration Technology and Cooperation Sector in Quebec. It provides an overview of topics of evaluation, self-evaluation procedure, indications on how to complete the self-evaluation report, each of the…

Minimum competency testing, in which passing a uniform test is necessary (but not sufficient) for promotion or graduation, has been carried out in a number of colleges, including the City University of New York (CUNY). Competency programs usually have three basic components: placement testing, remedial instruction, and exit testing. Competency…

Although, as an important component of any basic skills curriculum, college remedial reading programs need to be objectively and fully evaluated, no comprehensive, systematic procedures have been developed for this purpose. Three guidelines should be followed in evaluating college remedial reading programs: first, appropriate variables that allow…

Both half-year and full-year students enrolled in the 1988/89 College Discovery and Development Program of the New York City public schools surpassed the program's evaluation objectives in writing and mathematics and came close to meeting the objective in reading. The program, affiliated with the City University of New York, is a basic skills…