The National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) is a comprehensive nationwide study conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics to determine how students and their families pay for postsecondary education and to describe some demographic and other characteristics of those enrolled. The study is based on a nationally…

The Ohio Fourth-grade Proficiency Tests, which are described in this information guide, are designed to measure a fourth-grade level of literacy and basic competence. Proficiency tests in writing, reading, mathematics, and citizenship were implemented in March 1995, and a science assessment is planned for March 1996. These tests will be…

This paper describes the process used to design and evaluate a computer-based tool that guides the development of lesson plans. The tool, PLANalyst, contains a small expert system with a human face that analyzes lessons and gives specific feedback for improvement. The process used to create PLANalyst can be generalized to the development of tools…

An Indiana project developed a model diagnostic basic skills testing program with statewide application for teachers certified under the Occupational Specialist Rules. Fifteen commercially produced tests were reviewed for adoption. The set of criteria that guided the selection process included technical aspects and application factors. The TABE…

The field testing process for the collection of data on the norms, reliability, and concurrent validity of the Career Decision-Making System (CDM) is described. The CDM is a comprehensive career planning instrument that surveys interests, values, abilities, and training plans and relates them to career information in client-oriented interpretive…

This paper assesses the credibility of a single total instrument score and various logical sub-scores derived from a series of summative judgments about the quality of teaching performance. The objectives were to compare the generalizability of alternative Teacher Performance Assessment Instrument (TPAI) scores, to compare the dependability of…

A project was undertaken to design and field test a facility development model for competency-based vocational education programs in Florida. During the first phase of the project, the researchers conducted an in-depth case study of programs and facilities in which successful competency-based technical education programs had been conducted. Next,…

This curriculum guide, one of 15 volumes written for field test use with educationally disadvantaged industrial education students needing additional instruction in the basic skill areas, deals with helping students develop basic mathematics skills while studying metalworking. Addressed in the individual units of the guide are the following…

This final report discusses the activities and outcomes of the SPARK (Skills Promoted through Arts, Reading, and Knowledge) demonstration project, a project designed to provide inservice training and a preschool curriculum to enable professional early childhood staff to use literacy and the arts to promote the skill development of young children…

Recounts a pilot project in Pennsylvania in which student teachers field-tested Bill of Rights lesson plans and activities for intermediate grade teachers. Describes the project's phases and results, culminating in publication of "Without Them the Bill of Rights Would Be a Bill of Wrongs." Briefly explains the book's 20 lessons. (CH)

Thirteen Wyoming teachers and counselors interviewed managers in 215 businesses covering 9,515 jobs. This field study served as a basis for developing a field study-data collection model to be used in establishing an education-business liaison network. Each interviewer participating in the study was instructed to contact from 10 to 20 local…

A project was conducted to develop a set of curriculum materials for use in implementing an instructional strategy to teach mechanical skills in secondary level exploratory vocational agricultural programs in Arkansas. The specifics of the project were to field test and refine an empirical method for developing and implementing an instructional…

This curriculum guide, one of 15 volumes written for field test use with educationally disadvantaged industrial education students needing additional instruction in the basic skill areas, deals with helping students develop basic mathematics skills while studying woodworking. Addressed in the individual units of the guide are the following topics:…

This curriculum guide, one of 15 volumes written for field test use with educationally disadvantaged industrial education students needing additional instruction in the basic skill areas, deals with helping students develop basic mathematics skills while studying electronics. Addressed in the individual units of the guide are the following topics:…

With the prospect of less funds for vocational education, an innovative human resource development plan is needed to provide for improved and new training programs. Vocational teachers and administrators with curriculum development and management competencies will be required to develop curricula. Instructors will need to familiarize themselves…