The relationship between coaching and subsequent performance on the SAT I is a complex issue. Overall, anecdotal reports from one or two students and even studies that gauge the effects of coaching by examining the score gains for students who have enrolled in these programs are highly misleading and will not present an accurate picture of the…

Guidance task performance data from 303 secondary vocational teachers and 265 secondary guidance counselors in Tennessee were collected through a mail survey. Results showed vocational teachers perform tasks (appraising, consulting, counseling, presenting educational and occupational information, and placing graduates) to a higher degree than do…

The effectiveness of a set of curricular activities and differing group experience in facilitating interdependent task structuring by seventh graders were examined. No significant differences were found among the experimental groups, but they structured the task and behaved more cooperatively than the control group. (Author/MH)

Faculty and student ratings of improvement, taken late in a semester, were more positive for faculty participants in a teaching improvement program than for nonparticipants. A follow-up study of program users after one or more semesters substantiated these results, with apparent and durable improvements observed. (Author)

A study to determine the effectiveness of the personalized system of instruction format used in the introductory economics course at Empire State College is reported. Also addressed are the ability of adult students in the personalized system to learn as much as students in conventional settings, and the explaining and predicting of adult…

This study examined the relationship of school-level changes in the reading performance of students in general and special education to school environmental variables associated with "effective schools" reforms in 56 California schools. Results indicated inverse relationships between changes in general and special education students'…

Different meanings of portfolio assessment are reviewed, and potential applications to program evaluation are explored. At present, portfolio assessments are not recommended as the primary source of evidence about the attainment of program goals in evaluations that compare curricula or programs because of the lack of validity and reliability…

This paper reports on research into a national education program within one of Australia's largest trade unions. The program was designed to assist the union's staff and elected officials respond to the rapidly changing industrial and political conditions in the manufacturing sector. It is ambitious in scope comprising sixteen modules that range…

Finding reliable determinants to successful performance of students has long been an important topic in business education literature. The quest to determine why some students succeed and others fail has driven a great deal of research in both the education and business literature. This area of inquiry is related to assessment of student…

This study employed an ABAC and multiple baseline design to evaluate the effects of (B) feedback and (C) a package of feedback, goalsetting, and reinforcement (supervisor praise and an area-wide celebration as managed through a performance matrix, on a total of 14 various customer service behaviors for a total of 115 employees at a large…

Improving healthcare services in the developing world remains a major goal for many organizations and despite enormous training and program investments from international organizations, service improvements have been modest. This study looks at how to improve results by examining the relationship between the conditions in a healthcare providers'…

Youth work is a field that has moved from a sole focus on the treatment of youth problems to their prevention, and more recently, the promotion of normal, healthy development. Concurrent with this trend to a more comprehensive approach to youth services (one that serves a continuum from promotion to prevention to short- and long-term treatment)…

This survey-based study addressed a perceived gap between training performance evaluation practice and decision-making criteria required in business. Training professionals and non-training managers in North Carolina were surveyed. The study found that the groups differ in the performance measures that motivate them to act on training issues.…

OBJECTIVE: Brief cases designed for independent study were developed to allow third-year medical students some exposure to important concepts in emergency psychiatry during their required psychiatry clerkship. METHODS: Five independent study cases were given to University of Michigan third-year medical students during their psychiatry clerkship,…

This article reports on "Beyond the OPI: Integrated Performance Assessment (IPA) Design Project," a three-year (1997-2000) research initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education International Research and Studies Program. The primary goal of the project was to develop an integrated skills assessment prototype that would measure…