This paper presents research findings to help policymakers understand and select various options for holding schools accountable for their performance and to help them devise a multistrategy accountability system. However, it does not recommend one system over another, since a given accountability option must be compatible and adapted to…

In order to evaluate the most effective delivery format for providing gifted/talented education, 247 elementary students in gifted programs in Evansville, Indiana, were divided into experimental students, who received instruction in self-contained classrooms of fellow gifted students, and control students, who received instruction in a pull-out…

This paper describes the first year of a 2-year Diploma Nursing Program for American Indians that incorporated a humanistic learning component. The program was offered by the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology, Kelsey Campus, and was delivered off-site in North Battleford, Saskatchewan. Humanistic practices were introduced to…

A science laboratory skills performance assessment for elementary and secondary school science teachers in California, using a multi-methods approach, is described. Seven domains of teacher performance identified included: pedagogy, content, materials and equipment, management, knowledge of students, climate, and communication. Within each domain,…

The Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) was developed to evaluate the study and learning behavior of urban Black and Hispanic students in ways not measured by existing study skills instruments. The instrument attempts to deal effectively with "non-intellectual" factors identified previously as having an impact on study and learning…

Two performance instruments used in Georgia for the assessment and certification of speech language pathologists (SLPs) are described. All school SLPs are required to attain a passing score on the written Teacher Certification Test for Speech-Language Pathologists (TCT-SLP). Analysis of test results from 1982 through May, 1986 indicated that 63%…

The term "pre-doctoral syndrome" is used to define behaviors of doctoral students during the research and dissertation stage of their program, when they typically become intense, single-minded, over-sensitive, less receptive to criticism, and exhibit stress-related behaviors. A study was conducted to examine the perceptions of University…

Four major types of approaches to learner assessment are standardized testing, materials-based, competency-based, and participatory assessment. Standardized tests are easy and inexpensive to administer. Objections are their intrinsic defects and misuse. Materials-based assessment, the practice of evaluating learners on the basis of tests following…

This study examined the relationship between the changes introduced in a course syllabus for a course titled "Instructional Strategies" and the final grades obtained by freshman and sophomore students in three successive academic periods. A sample of 150 subjects was randomly selected from students enrolled in the course at the…

A study was undertaken at the request of the Orem (Utah) Public Library administration to identify the library's strengths and weaknesses, and to measure how close they were to achieving their target goal of 100% effectiveness in the areas of referral, accuracy, and consistency, in order to improve the quality of reference services. Data were…

Two approaches to the measurement of teacher efficacy were investigated to determine whether teachers' sense of self-efficacy is a self-referenced or norm-referenced construct. Two forms of an instrument consisting of 25 teaching problem situations were developed: one required self-referenced responses, while the other required norm-referenced…

The effects of rule knowledge were investigated using Braille inkprint pairs. Both recognition and recall were studied in three groups of subjects: rule knowledge, rule discovery, and no rule. Two hypotheses were tested: (1) that the group exposed to the rule would score better than would a discovery group and a control group; and (2) that all…

This review of the literature on testing urban students indicates that standardized tests may not reflect accurately the ability and achievement of poor minority children. Further, new research in cognition makes clear that both teaching and testing could be structured to better prepare students for the complex thinking required by life. Since…

A study was conducted at the International University of Japan to see if second language (L2) working capacity correlates with L2 reading ability in advanced English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learners. The study consisted of a set of memory tests (Simple Digit, Simple Word, and Complex Span Test) and a set of measures of reading skills given to…

This study investigated the effect of diagram formats on performance on geometry items in order to determine whether certain examinees are affected by different item formats and whether such differences arise from the different intellectual demands made by these formats. Thirty-two experimental, multiple-choice geometry items were administered in…