A Canadian study examined the feasibility of establishing achievement criteria for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students based on their age and length of residence (LOR) in Canada. Such criteria would permit comparisons between the academic and linguistic development of ESL students and that of both Canadian-born, English-speaking students…

Many social workers are anxious about the use of evaluation techniques and are particularly reticent about using statistical research. Strategies for understanding the steps involved in integrating practice and evaluation in a school social work setting, an appreciation for the need of evaluation, and knowledge of various resources on conducting…

The outcomes of charter schools to date are inconclusive. This report examines the charter legislation in 25 states in reference to the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) criteria. The criteria evaluate the legislation in regard to the likelihood that it will produce quality schools and/or serve as examples of how the larger system of public…

This progress report, as required by Act 359 of the South Carolina General Assembly, describes activities of a consortium of business and academic leaders toward development of a performance-based funding plan based on 37 performance indicators for public institutions of higher education in the state. Briefly summarized are the status of: measures…

The concept of developmental appropriateness can be applied to the assessment of young children. Clarifying the main purpose for which children are assessed can help determine what kinds of assessments would be most appropriate. Assessment of individual children might serve one of the following purposes: (1) to determine progress on significant…

This guide discusses how to approach staff evaluation and offers actual performance standards for a wide variety of library positions. These standards can be used by any type of library. Chapter 1 explains what performance standards are, how staff evaluation has evolved over the years, legal issues which have influenced the process, and some…

The Oregon Business Council (OBC)-David Douglas Model District Project was undertaken for two reasons: (1) to create a model for a district's accelerated implementation of all the elements of school reform as mandated in Oregon House Bill 3565; and (2) to learn lessons about school reform that would inform OBC member companies and school districts…

The Commission on the Evaluation of Collegiate Teaching (CETC) was established in July 1993 by the Quebec (Canada) government to assess methods in place at provincial community colleges for evaluating instruction and to make recommendations for improvements. This report reviews the Commission's activities, organization, and financial resources for…

For the past 20 years, the University of Hawaii Community Colleges have had a formal process for the review of educational programs, requiring that each program undergo a systematic review at least once every 5 years. The result tended to be a lengthy document that chronicled the history of the previous 5 years and was far more descriptive than…

Dealing with issues related to the assessment of community college accountability, effectiveness, efficiency, productivity, student outcomes, and quality improvement, this volume examines the practical considerations of assessment from the perspectives of state-level coordinating boards, accreditation agencies, college presidents, and…

Praxis III is an assessment procedure that provides information for making instructional and licensing decisions about beginning teachers. The Praxis III Assessor's job is to interview the beginning teacher, observe the teacher in the classroom, score the teacher's performance on 19 criteria, and summarize the evidence for each score. The Assessor…

This paper provides a framework for the discussion of policy and development of educational quality. Based on the choice of indicators, the purpose of assessment, and the type of evaluation, the paper proposes a whole-matrix approach to addressing the critical issues in assessing and monitoring educational quality. These critical issues include…

This study, an extension of previous research conducted at the College of Education, University of Akron (Ohio), focuses on the concerns and opinions of administrators regarding the use of portfolios for assessing the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of teacher candidates. School administrators (N=15) were asked to evaluate one of three portfolios…

A study examined the feasibility of using a "nonexperimental" technique to evaluate Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) programs for economically disadvantaged adults. New statistical techniques were applied to data about a sample of Utah JTPA participants and data about Employment Security registrants linked with their individual…

A survey investigated why high school students in one small city school chose Spanish as their foreign language of choice over French or Latin. Respondents were 103 students currently enrolled in Spanish at four levels. The survey was a multiple-choice questionnaire that also included space for an open-ended response. Results indicate that: 89…