Faculty and students may benefit from using a well-designed instrument to meet the objectives of both institutional assessment requirements and direct student learning in the discipline. This paper discusses how accounting rubrics can be used to evaluate and assess student learning by providing an organized approach to determine student success on…

Assessment of learning has become very important for government, universities and accrediting agencies. In this article, two variables are examined, leadership and teamwork, in the context of a survey used by one mid-south university for assessment purposes. This survey demonstrates the problems that arise when the sequential steps of the research…

An introduction to profiles is presented with examples provided to permit an overall appraisal of the potential of profiles, of the principles upon which they might be based, and of the problems that will have to be overcome if their potential is to be realized in practice. The larger scale examples of profiles discussed are the Scottish Pupil…

This review focuses on methods used to identify language impairment in 72 published research studies from 1983-88. Test data were most frequently used, and expressive and receptive language were routinely assessed. Research problems included the lack of clarity regarding the specific number and identity of tests used and use of incomplete tests.…

Research procedures used to evaluate the intelligence of children with specific language impairment are reviewed. Almost half of the 167 studies did not include adequate descriptions of intelligence assessment. (Author/JDD)

This article discusses evidence for functional behavioral assessment (FBA) procedures in terms of the meaning and interpretation of different forms of reliability and validity in FBA. It concludes that additional research needs to be conducted with various target behaviors across different settings to support the continued use of FBA. (Contains…

Problems with experimental research on mental retardation include: (1) difficulties with defining mental retardation; (2) neglect in demonstrating causal relationships; and (3) reliance on methodology not necessarily appropriate for defining the criteria of retardation. The author advocates abandoning definitions based on intelligence tests and…

Discusses and evaluates four different approaches used to study special educational needs: the Difference Model, the Developmental Model, the Ecological Model, and the Discursive Model. The need for adopting a multiple approach to the study of special educational needs is urged. (CR)

Discusses the paucity of research investigating the academic instruction of students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Issues of measurements related to academic performance are reviewed, with the conclusion that the rate of academic responses provides the most desirable measure for research as well as for clinical application. (Author/CR)

This article explores the place of self-assessment in religious education in the light of general research into self-assessment, particularly as part of assessment for learning. In particular, it analyses the problems of "enculturation" of learners into classroom assessment practice in religious education. The distinction between…

Empiricists may be defined as naive fumblers, people who collect and analyze data in the absence of a guiding theory. A theory may be defined as an empirically verifiable explanation of phenomena that predicts behavior. Empirical research may be defined as scholarship that is public and is performed using entities measured in units that can be…

Seven problem areas where research is needed critically at the two-year institution level are identified: (1) establish reliability and stability of MIS/data base; (2) find reliable predictive instruments and/or formulae; (3) analyze support services and academic assistance objectives; (4) develop research methods to evaluate curricula; (5)…

In September 1991, the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) announced standards for basic, proficient, and advanced achievement in mathematics and reported that few American students had reached these standards. Expert reviewers noted technical problems with the NAGB approach and questioned its results. In this report, the NAGB…

This study determined whether experts in special education transition services perceived a need for a common theoretical model and core set of outcome variables for follow-along research at the state level, evaluated a model for use in follow-along studies, and suggested research questions to be measured in a common format across statewide…

Models used for evaluating teacher education programs are described, particularly the learner referencing educational evaluation model. This model involves ten stages: (1) acquisition of possible teacher training program standards; (2) verification of those standards; (3) generation of specific learner objectives; (4) processing of learner…