A Finnish study compared the career development, participation in vocational education, and working life 4 to 5 years after the completion of secondary school education of students with mild mental retardation (n=13) and students with other disabilities (n=72). Results found most of the subjects had completed their studies, however, only 25…

Adult educators' philosophies of learning and teaching have a major impact on their evaluations of students. The evaluation methods used by adult educators are often incongruent with their apparent teaching-learning philosophies. Effective evaluation must be intricately woven throughout the teaching-learning process. Teachers must look at their…

In this study, a programmatic decision-making framework called the consensus marker-outcome variable system (CMOVS) was developed as a result of a comprehensive "meta-review" and synthesis of research on variables considered by experts to be important to learning for all students, including those with special needs or those at risk of failing. The…

This study investigated the different characteristics of nine fourth-grade boys, three boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), three boys with giftedness, and three boys with ADHD and giftedness. Information reported by teachers, parents, and the children were analyzed using an embedded, multiple-case design, with constant…

A middle school teacher with both English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) and mainstream students in her class attempted to foster learning independence by encouraging self-evaluation and examination of the learning process. Initially, this involved providing them with rubrics and checklists for assessing work on several assignments. A second step was…

The differences in academic performance among two levels of provisionally accepted (Learning Support) college students--System-placed (S) and Institutionally-placed (I)--and other students were investigated. Of 523 Learning Support students in a required reading course (RDG 099A), 402 students exited the course. Chi-square analyses and t-tests…

In 1995, the Education Commission of the States released the first in a series of annual reports examining the progress of education reform. The report concluded that despite many encouraging signs of progress, American schools and students were losing ground. This 1996 report, the second in the series, summarizes data on student performance,…

Classical test theory, item response theory, and generalizability theory all treat the abilities to be measured as continuous variables, and the items of a test as independent probes of underlying continua. These models are well-suited to measuring the broad, diffuse traits of traditional differential psychology, but not for measuring the outcomes…

The Annual Performance Report submitted by each state to the Office of Vocational and Adult Education was used to monitor what states have developed and how and to what extent states have implemented their accountability system. The following findings of this analysis are synthesized in this report: (1) 32 states require evaluation of all programs…

This manual presents 12 guidelines to help teachers of students with mental retardation make more informed decisions about instruction by gathering and using student performance data. Development of the guidelines incorporated both teachers' recommendations and researchers' findings about what procedures work best, and guidelines were tested in…

This study investigated the impact of performance assessment on the self-efficacy of undergraduate education majors. The students enrolled in an undergraduate educational psychology course were assessed using two different methods: traditional objective exams and performance assessment through microteaching episodes. Data were collected to examine…

In the 1995-96 school year, the Memphis (Tennessee) City Schools released standards for student performance in seven content areas and began laying the foundation for a standards-based curriculum and assessment system. The steps taken to develop and implement this project are outlined as follows: (1) defining the objectives and the project scope;…

An increasing number of schools and businesses are entering into more collaborative partnerships focusing on frequent classroom interactions centered around active learning. The "Authentic Assessment Project" was developed by the Science and Mathematics Network of Central Ohio to assist teachers and business partners in designing innovative…

The design, administration, scoring, and results of the 1993 New York State Correctional Captain Examination are described. The examination was administered to 405 candidates. As in previous Sergeant and Lieutenant examinations, candidates also completed latent image written simulation problems and open/closed book multiple choice test components.…

This paper describes the status of the standards movement in relation to the middle grades and in terms of the policy context of the 1990s. It also outlines the potential of standards-guided reform at the middle level. By the early years of the 1990s, two key assumptions characterized the new wave of proposed reforms: that schools needed to…