Grading profiles for formative and summative assessment in a British nursing school were designed with criterion referencing to improve validity and interrater and intercourse reliability. Assessment was conceptualized as an ethical activity that clarifies expectations through specification of criteria. (SK)

This article reports the results of a formative evaluation of an all boys pull-out gifted program in China. Twenty-six seventh-grade gifted students were placed in regular classes but were successfully taught a differentiated curriculum in science, mathematics, and computer science in special pull-out classes. (CR)

Discussion of quality assurance strategies in university distance education programs focuses on a quality assessment designed around five components: administrative leadership and support, ongoing program concerns, Web course development, student concerns and needs, and faculty concerns and needs. Explains the University of Central Florida's…

Discusses the importance of modeling effective evaluation practice as teachers teach about evaluation. Using the critical incidents evaluation tool and process students in graduate evaluation courses were asked to reflect on their learning of modeling formative evaluation throughout the course as a way to teach about evaluation practice. (SLD)

Surveyed beginning teaches, support providers, site administrators, and program staff in local California Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment programs regarding their perceptions of the effectiveness of various program elements in fostering reflective teaching, examining policy intents, program goals, and teachers' understandings of their…

Describes the Best Practice Research Scholarship (BPRS) project designed for teachers which supports development of formative assessment strategies. Uses mentors to provide guidance to teacher research groups. (YDS)

Describes "Placemark," an online tool for creating and managing Web pages within a school or district Web site. Topics include interviews with teachers to determine their needs, which centered around creating instructional materials and activities; online newsletters for parents; feedback to test the interface; formative evaluation; and…

Provides information, strategies, and activities designed specifically to aid instructors and students in developing collaborative group processes that promote teamwork in an online environment. Outlines an instructional module that was developed and formatively tested with graduate students, and describes a workshop designed for faculty members…

This article describes the on-going evaluation of a pilot program characterized by: (1) cooperation between program managers and evaluators; (2) first-hand knowledge about the implementation of the pilot; and (3) a focus on summative and formative evaluations. Evaluators participated actively in the design of the pilot. (Author/SLD)

A case study of the Arthritis Self-Care Project, a rural community intervention in Virginia, demonstrates the importance of process evaluation in determining the actual independent variable. Instances of reinvention uncovered by the study are explored, and suggestions are provided for dealing with the reinvention inevitable in field research. (TJH)

Discusses the practice of parental involvement in the teaching of reading. Questions whether the way this involvement is currently evaluated is as productive as it could be. Suggests alternative kinds of evaluation which might better serve a formative function in helping teachers plan their actions. (KO)

Principles of statistical process control are applied to a clinical setting through the use of control charts to detect changes, as part of treatment planning and clinical decision-making processes. The logic of control chart analysis is derived from principles of statistical inference. Sample charts offer examples of evaluating baselines and…

Examined relationships among planning, attention, simultaneous, and successive (PASS) cognitive processing tasks for a sample of hearing-impaired students. Results demonstrated that the PASS model was supported for the sample of 96 students, age 8 to 16. Bolsters other exploratory factorial studies which have shown PASS tasks to be consistent with…

Teachers (n=109) from a Texas school district participated in a study of teachers' perceptions of a postobservation evaluation conference with respect to the purpose, process, environment, and factors influencing the conference. Teachers also made recommendations for keeping the postobservation conference meaningful and constructive. Responses…

Evaluated National Regional Center's (NRC) team training approach used to train school and community agency personnel in drug abuse prevention. NRC-trained teams appeared to have most positive impact at junior high level. Findings suggest it is too early to assess behavior among elementary students and too late developmentally to have effect at…