Rubrics are tools that formalize the process of evaluation by explicitly stating the criteria to be used for grading. Rubrics help students to evaluate the quality of their work as they progress through a class. They may be very helpful to Ohio adult educators in helping to evaluate the Uniform Portfolio that must be kept on every student within a…

In October 1998, faculty and staff at Fox Valley Technical College (Wisconsin) were asked to complete a two-part evaluation of six values: integrity, collaborative partnerships, innovation, continuous improvement, customer focus, and diversity. Respondents were asked to give each a values rating--a rating on a 1-10 scale indicating the college's…

In 1877, Standing Bear and his people, the Ponca (Indians), were forcibly removed from their land in northern Nebraska and sent to Indian Territory. Since no provision for food or shelter had been made for them, a number of the tribe, including Standing Bear's son, did not survive the harsh winter. In defiance of the relocation order, Standing…

This publication reports on the rates of transfer of Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC) students and tracks what kinds of transfer institutions these students choose. The study analyzes transfer rates by school type: two-year in-state, two-year out-of-state, four-year in-state, and four-year out-of-state. It also analyzes the data…

California is experiencing a critical shortage of nurses -- a shortage that is likely to increase in the coming years (Coffman & Spetz, 1999). Although much of the nation is also experiencing similar shortages, California's shortage is more severe than that of any other state in the nation (Bureau of Health Professions, 2002). Most analyses of…

Professional evaluation of career counseling programs is becoming increasingly important as funding becomes more limited and accountability more pervasive. This digest describes a Canadian approach used by an outside team to evaluate seven small career counseling programs. Evaluators addressed two basic goals: appraise the effectiveness and…

In this digest, "career counseling" refers to activities intended to improve individuals' ability to make career decisions. Studies have shown that career counseling helps individuals as much as well-developed psychological, educational, or behavioral interventions. But more studies are needed to explain this phenomenon; this digest…

The first step in dealing with an attention deficit disorder (ADD/ADHD) child's difficult behavior is to understand its origins. This book presents behavior management techniques to help parents care for their ADD child while ensuring that the child continues to develop positive, healthy self-esteem. The guide shows how to: (1) ensure an accurate…

Changes in assessment practices are central to ongoing reform efforts in science and mathematics education. The education community is currently focused on new ways to measure, evaluate, and report students' progress toward standards and learning goals. The focus of this publication, using assessment for informing and improving instruction is not…

This paper describes current efforts to collect data on classroom instructional processes and to recommend ways to advance those efforts. The paper begins with a review of current survey methods for gathering such data; it continues with an evaluation of their appropriateness for use in the Teacher Followup Survey (TFS) (Schools and Staffing…

This issue discusses talent development in gifted children and youth. Articles include: (1) "Good and Goodness" (Roman Herzog), which addresses the need to provide gifted youth with financial aid to enable them to attend one of ten higher education institutions sponsoring gifted persons; (2) "It Is Essential To Start at an Early…

This comprehensive handbook offers detailed instructions for accessing the current performance of--and setting objectives for--school library media programs. Useful for both practicing school library media teachers and those in training, this manual shows how to identify problems and potentials, set goals and objectives, structure evaluation…

This report by 27 college and university presidents stresses the primacy of efforts to provide full and equal access to institutions of higher education, especially land grant institutions, and to the full range of programs and services they provide. Three challenges are identified in increasing access. First, price, although public university…

The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 called for the U.S. Department of Education to prepare an Annual Performance Plan which links the Department's budget request with its Strategic Plan. To meet that directive, Volume 1 of the Department's Strategic Plan for 1999 is presented here. It includes objective performance plans and shows…

This qualitative study explored the evaluative criteria used by administrators at a southern, metropolitan university to define institutional effectiveness and to determine the congruency between those criteria and the institution's metropolitan mission. Four focus groups were conducted with 22 administrators (vice chancellors, associate and…