As studies of organizational development have focused increasingly in recent years on stages of decline and death, theories of revolutionary adaptation have gained currency. The theory of organizational retrenchment developed in this paper is divided into five chronological stages: (1) preresponse, (2) emerging awareness and buying time, (3) alarm…

This module, one of a series of 127 performance-based teacher education learning packages focusing upon specific professional competencies of vocational education teachers, deals with assessing student performance of psychomotor skills. Included in the module are learning experiences that address the following topics: important considerations…

Developed from a comparison of the writing performance of eighth grade students in Delaware with a representative national group, this writing resource guide provides a detailed description of the state's writing assessment procedure and offers educators guidance in evaluating student writing and improving student writing skills. After describing…

Data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are reviewed to outline the achievement levels of students in the United States. This examination of NAEP data showing changes in levels of achievement during the 1970s leads to a number of conclusions. The overall picture for 9-year-olds is promising. The outlook for 13-year-olds,…

The introduction of the System of Multicultural Pluralistic Assessment's (SOMPA's) Sociocultural Scales potentially enables psychologists to more formally acquire and use information about sociocultural characteristics within children's families. However, until now, data on the Scale's stability have not been available. This paper reports the…

A review of functional literacy testing in the United States from 1955-82 is provided by summarizing the results of literacy assessment studies and synthesizing the major issues which they have engendered. These reviews are grouped with respect to content, criterion-related, and construct validity. The paper concludes by (1) summarizing some of…

In 1981, as part of its implementation of Roueche's model for developmental education, Pima Community College (PCC) initiated its first collegewide assessment and placement program. Faculty in the areas of reading, writing, and mathematics met to establish scores on which recommendations for student course placement would be based. A study was…

This booklet contains the competencies, item specifications, and sample items for the mathematics competency tests developed by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction for administration at grades 3, 7, and 10. Commonly referred to as the "shelf tests," they will be available for the first time during the 1985-86 school year. Ten…

A sample of l34 adults enrolled in adult education programs for credit ranked types of test items. From most to least preferred, the five types of test item were multiple choice, true/false, matching, fill-in-the-blank, and essay. Respondents also explained which type of test item contributed to anxiety for them. Vaguely written essay questions…

Based on research findings, public hearings, reports submitted by individuals and professional organizations, as well as on the training and experiences of the study committee, this report contains the findings and recommendations from a study of the English language arts programs in the North Carolina public schools. The first section of the…

School districts in New Jersey were required to report to the State Department of Education data pertaining to the impact of the state's high school graduation law (Chapter 241, Public Law 1979) on the 1987-88 graduating class. Data were collected through a form completed by all public school districts issuing diplomas. Of the 77,680 students in…

The 1990 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) will mark the first time that state-level comparisons will be possible with NAEP data. The 1990 data will contain, as a trial component, state-level assessments of eighth graders in mathematics. Mathematics and reading comparisons for fourth graders will be added in 1992. Statistical…

The analyses of J. E. Hunter (1983) were replicated with an expanded data set. The Hunter study, the basis of the Validity Generalization system used by the United States Employment Service, contained 515 General Aptitude Test Battery validation studies. The data set in this study included these and additional studies to bring the data set to 755…

One step toward promotion of equitable educational computing is to provide teacher education based on a better understanding of the machine/human interface, including the dynamics of teachers' decision-making about computer use. To test this notion, a study was conducted to investigate the relationship between elementary…

While much of microcomputer-based instruction (MCBI) is oriented to provide self-paced instruction to adjust for individual differences, there is some indication from cognitive theory that self-pacing may not be the best approach to improving learning. In addition, research in the area of cognitive imagery mediation has indicated that imagery…