The current main world university rankings broadly group the leading research universities of nations. Australia's Go8 universities are generally within the top 250 ranked universities, with several institutions in the top 50-100 on some measures. This recognition is commendable, however imperfect the individual rankings may be. Use is made of…

This guide is designed to help districts and schools evaluate reform efforts related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), including School Improvement Grants. It includes practical, how-to tips for conducting program evaluations, whether one takes a "do-it-yourself" approach or seeks outside assistance to evaluate reform…

Means of fostering utilization of educational evaluations are reviewed. Four ongoing educational evaluation programs were examined: (1) Florida Summer Institute Program; (2) Chapter I Reading Microcomputer Component; (3) Elementary Academically Gifted Program; and (4) Laboratory for Individualized Foundation Teaching. The addition of one factor…

The focus of this article is on the ways in which an analysis of professional discourse within a school can contribute to a school's self-evaluation. The project included an opportunity sample of nine schools and involved members of the research team, senior management and teachers in each school working in collaborative partnership. A research…

Examines research conducted at the British Open University using the research paradigm of phenomenography to discover what students understand about particular concepts in social science. The use of student interviews for formative and summative evaluation is described, and changes in course materials based on the results are discussed.…

Review states that two well-known evaluators have assembled a collection of essays on emerging issues in evaluation. These include global political perspectives, qualitative and quantitative research, the relationship between auditing and evaluation, performance assessment, international evaluation, and methodological issues. (SLD)

This primer is designed to provide a step-by-step guide for state policymakers and state agency officials interested in assessing the literacy skills of the people of their state. Chapter 1 describes the importance of assessing the literacy skills in each state. Literacy is discussed as an economic necessity, a requirement for a healthy democracy,…

Traditionally, outcomes measured by postsecondary vocational education assessment have included labor force participation rates, type of employment, earnings, and employer satisfaction with employees. Today, however, legislators and policymakers are moving more and more toward accountability measures tied to students' educational outcomes, such as…

This essay focuses on a key change that the author has experienced in the practice of program evaluation research over the past 20 years: the accommodation of the logic of science and the psychology of politics. This change has substantially altered the role of the evaluator, the evaluator's relationship with clients, the design of an evaluation…

The eight chapters of this issue focus on the uses, issues, and implications of national and international indicators of educational performance. They explore progress in using indicators to inform policy decisions and describe the progress of selected countries in developing, analyzing, interpreting, and reporting indicators of educational…

This brochure highlights the role of the school counselor in using educational research, and emphasizes the relationship between bias (racism and sexism) and past and present research. The tests counselors use, the ways test results are interpreted, and counseling techniques are all based on educational research. Counselors are cautioned to…

Data from nine Michigan elementary, middle, and high schools highlight the challenges and common strategies found in the use of student assessment data to meet public demands for accountability. The information gathered from assessment tools varies by frequency and type. Educators have, historically, underutilized data to guide practice because…

Identifies important criteria for assessing the quality of educational research and applies these 20 identified criteria to 2 recent international comparative studies in education, the Second International Science Study and the first International Assessment of Educational Progress. The major types of criteria are utility, propriety, and accuracy.…

A mail survey completed by 62 administrators in colleges of education in Ohio provides descriptive and correlational results about the nature of utilization of needs assessment. A moderately high multiple correlation is found for attitude and involvement, but other independent variables contribute minimally to prediction. (SLD)

The Test Center of the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory has published up-to-date information on the use of portfolios in assessment in this annotated bibliography. The 182 works cited in this edition include 43 new entries and 14 deletions from the 1992 edition. Articles are listed in alphabetical order by primary author and are also…