In focusing on why and how standards might be incorporated into the evaluation process, two themes are explored: the extent to which the Evaluation Research Society (ERS) Standards differ from other recent standards-setting activities and their applicability to local and state-level evaluation efforts. (Author/LC)

Points out that political and economic pressures have sometimes caused the Financial Accounting Standards Board to alter standards. Presents a spreadsheet tool that demonstrates the economic consequences of adopting accounting standards. (SK)

Describes the procedures by which Kentucky's state assessment program synthesized results from three standard setting procedures (Contrasting Groups, Bookmark, and Jaeger-Mills) for the 2000 state assessment. Shows the value of using multiple standard-setting approaches to gather information from each. (SLD)

Describes the development of technological design standards for a 35-school construction/renovation effort by Guilford County Schools in North Carolina. The standards encompassed the physical infrastructure, telephone systems, and paging systems. (EV)

Problems inherent in setting standards/passing scores for criterion-referenced tests are discussed; and traditional methods of setting standards are reviewed. Three acceptable methods based on judgments of questions are discussed; their authors include, respectively: (1) W. H. Angoff (1971); (2) R. L. Ebel (1972); and (3) L. Nedelsky (1954). (SLD)

Discusses panels for standard setting and presents 10 guidelines for the selection of panel members for such studies. Panel members should themselves hold the license for which they are producing a cutting score, and they must be familiar with the requirements of the profession and the characteristics of the candidates. (SLD)

By analyzing the Fisher information allotted to the correct response of a Rasch binary item, Huynh (1994) established the response probability criterion 0.67 (RP67) for standard settings based on bookmarks and item mapping. The purpose of this note is to help clarify the conceptual and psychometric framework of the RP criterion.

This is a compilation of 12 primers on important information standards and protocols. These primers are: (1) Atom; (2) COinS; (3) MADS; (4) MARC 21/MARCXML; (5) MIX; (6) MXG; (7) OpenSearch; (8) PREMIS; (9) RESTful HTTP; (10) unAPI; (11) XMPP (aka Jabber); and (12) ZeeRex. The Atom Syndication Format defines a new XML-based syndication format for…

The digital age is infiltrating colleges of education around the country, but while some faculty are jumping on the bandwagon and working hard to improve their own technological literacy and that of their students, other faculty are resistant, afraid that technology may "dehumanize" education. School districts around the country are investing…

This article examined two item-writing guidelines: the format of the item stem and homogeneity of the answer set. Answering the call of Haladyna, Downing, and Rodriguez (2002) for empirical tests of item writing guidelines and extending the work of Smith and Smith (1988) on differential use of item characteristics, a mock multiple-choice driver's…

In this article, the author explores ways to determine what students learn in college and how well colleges teach them. The author offers two markers--one for graduating students and one for the institution from which the students graduate. The first marker, a comprehensive examination in a student's major, would be required as a condition of…

This Evidence Based Education (EBE) Request seeks to provide an overview of recent research regarding school improvement and reform with special concentration on turning around chronically low-performing schools. The response is divided into four main sections: Research on Effective Methods for Turning Around Low-Performing Schools, Frameworks for…

This report has been prepared as an introduction to standards-based individualized education programs (IEPs). It has been prepared especially for those who work in and are responsible for charter schools. It is an addition to the resources available on the Primers on Special Education in Charter Schools website that is designed specifically to…

Every day, 6,000 American high school students drop out of school--bored, frustrated, or so far behind that they've given up. That is the visible crisis in American education, one that has drawn extensive attention from governors, legislators, educators, pundits, and the press. Affecting even greater numbers of students, however, is the invisible…

The trends of globalisation have had unavoidable impacts in steering and guiding the decisions of national policy-makers and the direction of national education policies. In the obscuring processes of supranational homogenisation of education and educational policy, supranational regimes, such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and…