A survey of 312 teachers and families of students with severe disabilities in California, Colorado, Kentucky, Utah, and Virginia was designed to measure the extent of implementation of 12 educational "best practices" and the level of demonstration of 7 student outcome variables. The educational practices included: integration into school and…

This paper reports on the development and use of a multiattribute evaluation model for making resource reallocation decisions in a large College of Education. Multiple criteria with measurable attributes, procedures for use, and software templates are identified, along with data from a recent cycle of reviews. Final estimates on weighted utility…

A study assessed the effectiveness of three cognitive levels of instruction with first graders--three-dimensional (3-D) instruction using real objects, two-dimensional (2-D) instruction using picture representations, and verbal instruction. The study population included 18 first-grade students between the ages of 6 and 8 at a small elementary city…

This document presents an overview of the frameworks developed for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) at grades 4, 8, and 12 in reading, United States history, geography, mathematics, and science. The critical elements of NAEP framework material for the five subject areas are brought together for planning and policy formation…

This paper presents several methods of reading instruction that teachers can use with young readers, particularly learners of English as a Second Language (ESL), to help them cope with potential negative effects of background knowledge. Insufficient or inaccurate background knowledge may cause readers to make inferences or interpretations that are…

An experiment using audiotaped student journals for course evaluation is described. Subjects were 200 native Cantonese-speaking technology students taking credit-bearing courses in English communication skills for building. One of the required tasks in the course was to indicate, in their oral journals, what they liked about an instructional…

Between 1987 and 1991, the National Center for Research on Teacher Education engaged in the Teaching Education and Learning to Teach study, a longitudinal study of teachers as they participated in a variety of teacher education programs. The study sought to determine how teachers' knowledge, beliefs, and reasoning changed over time, and it…

The impact of portfolio assessment, specifically writing portfolios, on the norms of classroom assessment practices were studied in two English Language Arts classes in a middle class suburban high school in the Los Angeles (California) area. Data were gathered through observations and interviews, and the examination of 25 student portfolios, with…

Correspondence, survey, and group interview data were combined to investigate the nature and consequences of participatory evaluation activities in a medium-sized school district (48,000 students) in Simcoe County in Ontario (Canada). The study focused on the dynamics, supporting conditions, and consequences of internally conducted participatory…

This paper presents a functional approach to assessment and associated program development for individuals with severe disabilities, with emphasis on informal strategies that target beginning communicative levels. In the first section, form, function, and context (three components of any communicative act) are defined and described. Three…

This module on the garbage crisis is for intermediate and advanced learners of English as a Second Language. It seeks to inform learners about this issue and to give them an opportunity to direct their concerns about the environment into positive action. The guide uses the problem-posing methodology of Paulo Freire. This methodology has three…

This instructor's manual contains 13 units of instruction for a course on mechanical drafting with options for using computer-aided drafting (CAD). Each unit includes some or all of the following basic components of a unit of instruction: objective sheet, suggested activities for the teacher, assignment sheets and answers to assignment sheets,…

It has been suggested that in science education the immediacy and pervasiveness of television and its ability to bring the world into the classroom could be effectively used by the teacher. The motivational uses of instructional television in a high school environmental science class were studied with 57 tenth graders at a suburban high school.…

The Chapter 1, Part B, Institutional Facilities Program of the New York (New York) public schools was fully implemented in summer 1993, providing supplementary career education, academic remediation, and daily living skills instruction for approximately 500 students at 15 institutions for neglected and delinquent children. Eighty-two percent of…

Student Upgrading through Computer and Career Education System Services (Project SUCCESS) was an Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title VII-funded project in its third year of operation. Project SUCCESS served 460 students of limited English proficiency at two high schools in Brooklyn and one high school in Manhattan (New York City).…