In times of budget shortfalls and ever increasing demand for transparency and accountability for use of tax dollars in the public sector, it is clear that the use and influence of performance measurement has increased. "Performance measurement" is a "fairly inclusive term that may refer to the routine measurement of program inputs,…

The Bayley Scales of Infant Development II (BSID-II) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III) are frequently used across cultures in standard assessment batteries for learners between 6 and 17 years of age, respectively. Responses of American Indian students on the BSID-II and WISC-III were examined for patterns of…

Background: The UK is a multicultural, multilingual society and the majority of paediatric speech and language therapists in England have at least one bilingual child on their caseload. There are many imperatives driving the profession to provide an equitable service for bilingual children. Evidence is beginning to emerge, however, that bilingual…

We compared groups with and without diagnosed dementia matched on IQ, age, and presence of Down syndrome. The Dementia Scale for Down Syndrome and Dementia Questionnaire for Mentally Retarded Persons were used to assess participants. We developed two performance tasks to determine whether they were useful in separating subjects with and without…

Recent studies have argued that there is a dropout crisis in the U.S. But the authors in this article, find that this contention is based on flawed analyses of inadequate data. Using a much wider range of sources, they conclude that the situation is not nearly so dire as is commonly believed. (Contains 14 endnotes.)

Purpose: This study asked if children's performance on language tests reflects different dimensions of language and if this dimensionality changes with development. Method: Children were given standardized language batteries at kindergarten and at second, fourth, and eighth grades. A revised modified parallel analysis was used to determine the…

This column focuses on the valid, reliable, and useful measurement of treatment effects in children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) treated in practice settings. The case is presented of Polly, an 11 year-old female who was evaluated and determined to have probably met diagnostic criteria for ADHD, combined…

When the federal Commission on the Future of Higher Education delivered its final report to the secretary of education in September, accreditors and many higher-education leaders breathed a small sigh of relief. The document did not endorse an early recommendation that the current accreditation system be completely dismantled. Now, though, just a…

Late in 2007 New Visions for Public Schools, a New York City reform organization, received a grant from the C.S. Mott Foundation to organize select high schools and community partners into delivery systems that could improve student achievement. New Visions asked Policy Studies Associates, Inc. to provide research support for this effort in the…

This policy brief explores kindergarten readiness observation and its benefits to local and state level stakeholders; highlights efforts by California counties and other states to measure school readiness; and makes recommendations for moving toward statewide use of kindergarten readiness observation tools. Key points include: (1) Early efforts to…

As interest in expanding the number of high quality charter schools available to parents and students has grown, policy makers have increased their focus on identifying and providing support to new charter programs that have the potential to improve student outcomes and satisfy parent and student needs. Since 1994, the U.S. Department of Education…

Self-assessment leads to stronger performance in the nation's colleges and universities. That's the premise of "Excellence in Higher Education," a model self-assessment program that has earned accolades from the higher education community. Based on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award framework, the fourth edition of this bestseller is the…

Self-assessment leads to stronger performance in the nation's colleges and universities. That's the premise of "Excellence in Higher Education," a model self-assessment program that has earned accolades from the higher education community. Based on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award framework, the fourth edition of this bestseller is the…

Developed jointly by OECD member countries through the OECD's Directorate for Education, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) aims to measure how far students approaching the end of compulsory education have acquired some of the knowledge and skills essential for full participation in the knowledge society. The assessment is…

The aim of this study is to introduce a goal programming based on a holistic approach for the evaluation of "early childhood development support project", which was applied in some cities in Turkey. Like in many other areas, statistical methods are widely used in research on pre-school education. According to the literature, very few…