Selected program evaluations through the GENeric Evaluation SYStem (GENESYS) of the Austin (Texas) Independent School District are reviewed. GENESYS, implemented in 1988-89, consists basically of a database methodology assessing the school system's longitudinal databases and a set of computer programs using the Statistical Analysis System (SAS) to…

The purpose of a study was to demonstrate the value of multiple evaluation perspectives in the development, implementation, and revision of a series of workshops conducted for inservice teachers. In the Animals in the Classroom Program, the content of the workshop concerned a highly charged issue: the appropriate and humane care and use of animals…

Some potential relative advantages of performance assessment strategies over paper-and-pencil tests using short-answer and multiple-choice item formats are discussed. The major advantage of the multiple-choice test is its ability to sample a large number of learning outcomes efficiently. However, performance assessments are increasingly being used…

In this update, 49 more goal-based programs are added to the 50 programs described in the directory's initial 1981 edition. The programs are goal-based in that they make use of such concepts as minimum competency testing, mastery learning, and continuous progress curricula, among others. As in the initial edition, each program receives a one-page…

Issues pertaining to research on college reading and study skills programs are analyzed, based on a literature review. It is suggested that before educators can provide quality instruction, they need to differentiate practices that are conducive to learning. Evaluative criteria are needed to make such decisions, as well as to design and evaluate…

Designed for teaching students in regular and special education classes, the guide provides an instructional approach (as opposed to a counseling approach) to teaching social and behavioral skills. This approach, based on the premise that behavioral skills can be developed through instruction, drills, and applied practice, employs concepts from…

A multicultural enrichment program in which selected fifth- and sixth-grade students from Washington, District of Columbia, public schools learned about other countries by studying a foreign embassy is evaluated. Chapter I outlines the main components of the program: joint educator-embassy planning, student research, student field visits and…

Teaching is an applied science derived from research in human learning and behavior. The science of teaching is based on cause-effect relationships existing in three categories of teacher decisionmaking (content, learner behavior, and teaching behaviors). Several "templates" can be used to describe, interpret, and evaluate either…

Recommendations are made for improving teacher education starting with internal reform on the part of individual schools of education. It is pointed out that institutions, acting independently and comparing their programs in a realistic way with similar programs in other schools, can identify weaknesses and are in a position to rectify them. An…

Two alternative programs for students seeking secondary school teacher certification were compared for cost effectiveness. The most pronounced difference between individuals majoring in education and non-majors seeking teacher certification while completing degree requirements in their chosen field is the number of required semester hours of…

This field study was conducted to develop a performance-based course, including goal statements, performance objectives, and learning activities, for a light commercial building drafting course. The procedures used during the study were based on the 1975 Michigan Department of Education project for the development of competency-based teacher…

Research on schema theory in general and its specific application to reading in non-native speakers of English has important implications for the second language classroom. Studies show that readings with an unfamiliar background, including an unfamiliar cultural background, are more difficult to understand. Understanding inferences and…

The evaluation of teacher inservice education programs is discussed. Evaluation of an inservice program is aimed at answering questions about the program's effectiveness and providing a description of the impact the experience has on the participants. Curriculum evaluation should be concerned with four kinds of decisions: (1) planning; (2)…

Fifty-two families of students successful in public school and 40 families of students requiring alternative school programs completed self-report instruments on their perceptions of parent-adolescent communication and family functioning. The alternative school programs included residential and day treatment programs for adolescents with emotional…

One aspect of the Greece (New York) Central School District's Continuing Education Division is an adult literacy program for students who enter with a reading level below the sixth grade as measured by the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) (17 percent of students). Students at this level receive instruction in one of four environments: adult…