Two ways of interpreting raw test data are norm-referencing and criterion-referencing; the former yields information based on some type of ordering of the person on the person's dimension, while the latter tells whether or not students can exhibit a given performance. Criterion-referenced information can be ordered into a criterion-referenced…

Teacher training for work in Individually Prescribed Instruction (IPI) depends heavily upon an intensive orientation to this specific system and to the theory and rationale underlying it. It can be fully successful only if it involves very extensive experience in actually working under this system in the classroom. Also, effective operation of an…

The evaluation of an educational innovation can serve as an aid in the development of the innovation, and it can provide a basis for making judgments with respect to it. This report discusses the Individually Prescribed Instruction (IPI) program and its approach to evaluation. IPI evaluation activities are carried out in six areas: the program…

The term evaluation is used here to mean either the procedure of gathering pupil data to use in planning and monitoring individual programs or the procedure of gathering and analyzing data in such a way that it leads to improvements in materials and in the instructional system. The author reviews the Winnetka Plan and the Eight-Year-Study. He then…

Criteria to be used in evaluating the quality of the form in which Individually Prescribed Instruction (IPI) objectives are stated include writing the objective in terms of observable pupil behavior, stating the performance in terms of an "action verb", specifying the object of the action verb, stating the context or conditions for…

Most of the evaluation activity associated with the Individually Prescribed Instruction (IPI) Project is formative evaluation, that is, evaluation that provides feedback for indicating areas or operations where improvements are needed. This paper describes the program for formative evaluation and presents some data obtained in some representative…

Three roles of evaluation used in Individually Prescribed Instruction (IPI) projects are defined in this monograph: the regular and systematic evaluation of pupil achievement for the purpose of adapting instructional experiences to individual needs, the continuing evaluation of all elements of a developing educational program as an aid to this…

Following a general discussion of the goals of individualized instruction, the role of the teacher in an instructional system developed at the Learning Research and Development Center of the University of Pittsburgh is described. (LS)

Individually Prescribed Instruction (IPI) depends upon a structured curriculum made up of sequences of behavioral objectives which the student must master in moving from one level of ability to some subsequent higher level. The curriculum designer has the responsibility of specifying, with varying degrees of exactness, how the typical pupil would…

Lindvall's observation system has been designed to assess elementary school students' behaviors in an Individually Prescribed Instruction (IPI) project. It measures the self-directiveness of the student by determining how pupils use their classroom time when they are not actively being guided by a teacher. The system focuses on student behaviors,…

A description and evaluation are given of the Individualized Mathematics (IM) program. IM is an outgrowth of the work of the Learning Research and Development Center (LRDC) at the University of Pittsburgh. The program has developed and implemented manipulative lessons for primary grade (K-3) students. Like other LRDC programs, this one includes…

The development of the Individualized Mathematics (IM) program is described in this paper. This program, for use in grades K-3, incorporates elements from predecessor Learning Research and Development Center mathematics programs, IPI mathematics, and PEP quantification. It features the systematic use of lessons involving manipulatives in an…

After reviewing the basic principles of instructional design, the author outlines a seventeen-step procedure for the development of mathematics lessons for primary students. The procedure consists of three basic components. The first is concerned with the definition of the unit, and steps in it concern the stating of objectives and analysis of…

A group of students normally distributed in aptitude and given the same instruction will produce a normal distribution of student achievement. It has been contended that if each of five primary variables in learning are optimized for each student, all students should be expected to achieve mastery of the material. These variables are (1) aptitude…

The purpose of this paper is to report on a pilot investigation of the operation of the Bloom and Carroll hypothesis which states that aptitudes are predictive of rate of learning given a situation in which the time allowed for learning is unlimited, and pupil perserverance, ability to understand instruction, and quality of instruction are…