Separate but related developments in the new generation of school effectiveness research are discussed. The first part of the report presents a short historical overview that traces the change from a largely individualistic research approach to one that is more holistic. Whether schools make a difference is explored, and, if so, what makes them…

The development of improved and alternative methods of educational assessment should take advantage of technologies that enable different aspects of learning, teaching, and student achievement to be part of an improved assessment system. The current understanding of knowledge assessment, new approaches to assessment, and technologies that may…

Diagnoses of students' performance on procedural mathematical tasks need to display a certain level of stability and robustness if they are to be used as the basis for remediation, particularly with computer-delivered instruction. The purpose of this study was to compare two diagnostic approaches for describing students' (n=231) errors in algebra…

Teachers describe their professional development experiences regarding science, science teaching, and science learning as they occurred over a 2.5 year period in the Literacy in Science and Social Studies Project in a professional development school setting. They contrast their experiences in this collaborative setting with more traditional models…

In the past decade, there have been ample interests in the assessment of cognitive and affective processes and products for the purposes of meaningful learning. Meaningful measurement (MM) has been proposed which is in accordance with a humanistic constructivist information-processing perspective. Students' responses to the assessment tasks are…

Salem-Teikyo University (STU) (West Virginia) has been charged with developing a student assessment plan to be fully implemented by 1995. This report is a first step toward this plan, presenting the perspective, paradigms, possibilities, and a proposal for the assessment of student outcomes. The perspective advocated is that of the Center for…

The Moderation and Assessment Project, South West, was an outgrowth of the Technical and Vocational Educational Initiative of the government of the United Kingdom that attempted to develop more courses with vocational relevance for adolescents. Growing from research projects under the Moderation and Assessment project, a new model of moderation is…

Relying on estimates of variance explained to assess the practical significance of research findings is now common practice. It is suggested that such estimates can offer an inaccurate picture, often underestimating the practical significance of statistically small effects. As an example, research on employment discrimination indicates that in…

In 1992, Alamogordo Branch Community College (ABCC), a branch campus of New Mexico State University, developed and implemented the Institutional Assessment and Strategic Planning (IASP) process, an integrated process designed to assess both student academic achievement and institutional effectiveness. Each year, the IASP process begins when…

While field placement in human services programs is an extremely important practical phase of training, it has generally not been standardized, and thus can be difficult to assess. A model program and assessment format developed by Hudson County Community College (HCCC), in Jersey City, New Jersey, however, provides a possible framework for…

The need for continuing education about human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) was assessed for health care workers in metropolitan South Australia. Seventeen focus group discussions were held to solicit the views and experiences of various persons regarding HIV/AIDS tertiary education. Included in the…

This booklet has been written to help persons interested in assessment of education and training programs in general and competency-based vocational education programs in particular. The following topics are covered in the individual sections: the meaning of the term "assessment"; the importance of assessment; curriculum models; percentages and…

Distinct multiple regression models are discussed, along with issues and problems related to their application to the practical problem of identifying effective schools. Statistical results obtained from the application of each model are discussed. The first model was implemented in 1984, and the second in 1992. In 1984, it was decided to identify…

Imagery use in high school mathematics classrooms was studied. A visual image was defined as a mental scheme depicting visual or spatial information, but this definition was not spelled out to teachers or students, in order to learn what they meant by the concept. Subjects were 13 high school teachers and 54 of their students interviewed over 3…

In 1997, the Finance Project convened a roundtable meeting of representatives from organizations who have been working to improve the financing of services and supports to young children and their families; the meeting was convened with the purpose of mapping an agenda for future research, development, and demonstration to support improvements in…