Effective needs assessment is not an end in itself but a continuing means of meeting the needs of students and teachers. It is an integral part of other activities such as planning, operating, and evaluating school programs and teacher center activities. The key to comprehensive needs assessment is the support and cooperation of the teachers,…

This booklet is one of eight developed both as resource guides to assist Wisconsin public schools in offering qualtiy reading instruction and as models for improvement where there is a need for change. This fifth booklet suggests a model to use in planning a local Right to Read program that includes the following steps: commitment to begin…

The School Planning, Evaluation, and Communication System (SPECS) is an overall design for districtwide program assessment and development. It is both a way of interrelating planning and evaluation of individual programs and a way of comparing the outcomes of all district programs with the district's community-defined educational goals. Component…

The School Planning, Evaluation, and Communication System (SPECS) is an overall design for districtwide program assessment and development. It is both a way of interrelating planning and evaluation of individual programs and a way of comparing the outcomes of all district programs with the district's community-defined educational goals. This…

The implications of mainstreaming for the physical education teacher are examined. An overview of the legislation regarding programing handicapped students in physical education is presented. Major categories and descriptors necessary in drawing up an individualized education plan are outlined. Specific strategies and activities that can be…

A four-step method that can be utilized to make inservice education programs more responsive to the interests and needs of teachers and other educational personnel is presented. The first step involves assessing teachers' attitudes and changes in attitudes toward inservice as measured by responses to 34 statements in an inventory. A copy of the…

Context and input measures offer potential for vocational education program evaluation. Problems of measurement in context evaluation are primarily related to decisions on the appropriateness of data and how data should be interpreted. When program goals have been established, input evaluation is used to determine how available resources can be…

This comprehensive, five-phased Needs Assessment Project brought together the collective input from the community, community leaders, current and former students, and the San Diego Community College District staff (faculty, administration, and support personnel). The purpose of the project was to develop valuable, objective input for the Board of…

The Lifelong Learning Project (established under the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare) and possible approaches toward the development of effective and efficient Federal-State relationships in carrying out adult learning programs in communities are discussed along with other implications of the project. (TA)

Common problems and issues related to programming for continuing education in social work and efforts to deal with them are described. It is shown that rurality has a definite impact on the content, structure, and methods used, and that demographic factors and organizational characteristics must be considered. (Author/LBH)

Community colleges can provide effective programs for Native American adults only after a careful assessment of their educational needs. A single individual should be responsible for the development of such programs and for the college's response to Indian and other ethnic communities. (DC)

The efforts to develop a long-range plan for the Wisconsin Alumni Association are described. Steps to take to set up a long-range plan for alumni associations include: needs assessment, volunteer committee to advise staff, situation analysis, alumni census, mission statement, goals, implementing the plan, and evaluation. (MLW)

The importance of evaluation and needs assessment balance in the planning cycle of adult education program development is discussed. A 10-step Problem Analysis Model is offered and explained to help educators develop an integrated, reality-based program that identifies a target group and defines and prioritizes needs. (DF)

Faculty development programs were introduced to help physician-teachers improve their competence in academic skills. The current status of faculty development programs in departments of family medicine were assessed via a questionnaire survey mailed to directors of family medicine residency programs. (MLW)

A survey of 3,600 teachers by the National Center for Early Development and Learning (Pianta et al., 1999; NCEDL, 1999) found that teachers were concerned about children's transitions to school. Teachers reported that almost half (48 percent) of children entering kindergarten had moderate or serious problems adjusting to the new experience. These…