As with so many guides for school improvement, the U.S. Department of Education's March 2006 Non-regulatory Guidance document entitled, "Designing Schoolwide Programs," continues to marginalize the essential role of student/learning supports. This brief report analyzes the guidance document with a specific focus on how to ensure Title I schoolwide…

The purpose of this study was to determine students' perceptions about their biology teachers' attitudes and communication behaviors in classroom environment in Turkey. A Likert type questionnaire was constructed consisting of 33 statements divided to three sub-sections. The Cronbach's alpha reliability for the instrument was 0.9076. Results…

Construct validity has been an issue in assessment centers literature. This study developed a model for competency-based assessment centers by integrating competency modeling, training design, assessment centers, and multi-source feedback assessment. Several propositions in conjunction with the model were also developed to help resolve construct…

The goal of the Maryland School Performance Program is for each school to offer an excellent education to its students. This report presents performance information for the 1995-96 school year and the evaluation criteria that provide the basis for school improvement. Published by the Maryland State Department of Education, the report contains…

This study sought to determine the causes of high or low attainment in preschool, focusing on 17 factors identified as having a significant influence on the development of children's abilities. The study focused on home factors influencing attainment among 30 high ability and 30 low ability children from preschools in Glowno, Poland.…

Nearly all the states produce one or more accountability or indicator reports containing data reported at one or more levels of the education system as well as data from other sources. To inform discussion about what data are useful and appropriate to report, comparisons were made of state accountability and indicator reports. A list of 74…

This digest discusses the assessment of children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Topics addressed include: (1) the purpose of an assessment of children who are deaf or hard of hearing; (2) problems associated with assessment, including the diagnostician's lack of experience with the deaf population, communication problems, tests that are normed…

This external evaluation report provides formative evaluation data on several aspects of a project at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) to implement performance-based evaluation of student learning. The first section evaluates feedback from 12 senior mathematics and 4 senior chemistry majors regarding their understanding of the mathematics…

This study examined the role of motivational factors on the academic achievement of children in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades. Four motivational factors were assessed: the child's motivational attributions, motivational goal orientation, self-perception, and mastery-oriented behaviors in the classroom. Mastery-oriented behaviors include being…

The "Student Evaluation of Teaching and Teaching Techniques" (SE3T) instrument, designed for this study of student evaluation of teacher performance, was administered twice to students in seven high schools in north Florida. Each time, results were tabulated and feedback provided to each teacher within one week; each teacher received…

Performance assessment is the assessment of students engaged in an activity. It is the on-the-spot evaluation of a performance, behavior, or interaction. Ordinarily, there is no concrete product that can be judged at a later date. In Developmental Assessment, teachers monitor student progress against a preconstructed map of developing skills,…

The School-Based Management Project was designed to determine how School-Based Management (SBM), when combined with curriculum and instruction reform, could work to improve the performance of schools. This report presents findings of a study that examined American, Canadian, and Australian schools that exhibited a range of success in restructuring…

These two issues contain reviews of legal/legislative issues, research and treatment issues, book and video materials, and on-line resources and websites relating to family violence and sexual assault. The first issue, contains "Empowering African American Children To Become Resilient: Early Success in Overcoming Violent Families and…

This paper discusses performance measurement in university libraries, based on examples from the University of Wollongong (UoW) in Australia. The introduction highlights the integration of information literacy into the curriculum and the outcomes of a 1998 UoW student satisfaction survey. The first section considers performance indicators in…

This guidebook is about changing the way people think about setting goals; it is about identifying goals that are important and meaningful. Creating those kinds of goals means taking stock of personal values--what one believes and how one can act to carry out those beliefs--in five key areas of life: career, self, family, community, and spirit.…