The application of middle school and high school curriculum-based management (CBM) to critical thinking in content areas is discussed. The article outlines essential features of critical thinking assessments, development of CBM problem-solving prompts, and examples of scoring systems. An example involving a student with learning disabilities is…

Describes the development of a telecommunications network that links Florida schools with the United Kingdom's educational network, Campus 2000. Criteria for curriculum design are explained; evaluation strategies are discussed, including student achievement measures and attitude measures; plans for the future are examined; and an example of a…

Presented are assessment techniques to help improve instruction. Included are the formative assessment techniques observation and questioning, diagnostic interviews, and problem-solving-based investigations and the summative assessment technique of performance-based tasks. Examples of these methods are provided together with at-home activities…

Key points in the articles of this issue are discussed and preliminary criteria for school-linked service efforts are reviewed. Six critical issues requiring additional attention in implementing school-linked services are the following: (1) systemic change; (2) targeting; (3) financing; (4) evaluation; (5) state and federal leadership; and (6)…

Discusses culturally defined school success, using the case study of a videotape prepared by six Hispanic American and African-American students in an alternative New York City high school. Despite the project's pragmatic success, teachers judged the discussion task a failure. Bases of the prevailing view of success are discussed. (SLD)

Evaluates the first two years of a local welfare reform demonstration, the Family Development Center (FDC), in Baltimore (Maryland). This quasi-experimental study found the FDC successful in programs designed to increase labor market participation and earnings. FDC participants experienced increases in educational aspirations, self-esteem, and…

The documented decline in test scores of the 1960s and 1970s and the unclear picture since then result from educational and noneducational factors. Aspects of the misuse of test scores are (1) simplistic interpretation of performance trends; (2) unsupported evaluations of schooling; and (3) a reductionist view of education. (SLD)

Methods for and results of implementation in the United States of the Second International Science Study's (SISS) advanced-science subsample are discussed. Analyses of student, teacher, and school effects on achievement in advanced biology, chemistry, and physics results are included. American students scored among the lowest four SISS…

Describes the Adonis project, a CD-ROM database of biomedical journal articles that was designed to investigate ways in which publishers could maintain the income they received from publishing scientific journals. User studies are described that were conducted at University College London to evaluate user satisfaction with Adonis searches. (five…

Describes a self-administered microcomputer-based simulation that allows teacher educators to create customized simulated classroom experiences for their students. Lesson performance measures are discussed, postlesson feedback variables are described, self-perception measures are explained, and results of a posttraining evaluation of the…

Discusses the role of interactive multimedia in museums; describes the development and design at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History of a multimedia program on water conservation; analyzes the effect of the presence of audio on the users' completion of the program; and discusses evaluation of the program. (10 references) (LRW)

Reviews the restructuring of the Chicago (Illinois) Public Schools. Key choices made about restructuring over 10 years are discussed, and 18 key elements for improvement are identified. It is argued that the reform is on the right track, with potential for substantial impact. (SLD)

Presents abstracts of 36 special interest group (SIG) sessions. Highlights include the Chemistry Online Retrieval Experiment; organizing and retrieving images; intelligent information retrieval using natural language processing; interdisciplinarity; libraries as publishers; indexing hypermedia; cognitive aspects of classification; computer-aided…

The six articles of this special issue focus on minority issues in program evaluation. The aim is to begin a discussion of minority concerns about the impact of cultural dominance on definitions of social goals, the measurement of outcomes, and the political consequences of the selection of evaluation methods. (SLD)

Discusses the use and advantages of integrated learning systems (ILSs) in elementary and middle grades, and reanalyzes 30 evaluations of ILSs by using effect size statistics. Research problems are described, including poor evaluation designs and inadequate data collection and analysis; and a table summarizes the ILS research reports and…