A consortium effort sponsored by the Northwest Regional Evaluation Association has arrived at a workable definition of a portfolio that takes into account the viewpoints of teachers and those interested in large-scale assessment. The modified definition states that: "A student portfolio is a purposeful collection of student work that tells…

The planning and implementing of a rural instructional television fixed service (ITFS) distance education program at California State University-Fresno (CSUF) is described. The three important functions of establishing a distance education program within a learning institution are addressed: telecommunications networking, management…

Although multimedia technologies offer a great potential, educators and decision makers need to see evidence regarding the instructional effectiveness of multimedia in order to integrate it into the educational processes. The main purposes of this paper are: (1) to identify and discuss the main criticisms of media research, including the research…

This report is designed to assist instruction librarians working with faculty in education and related areas to teach education students the skills of searching, retrieving, and evaluating information in education and related fields. The language of the document was chosen to help librarians communicate their objectives to faculty. The document…

In an attempt to make grading a less arduous, and more accurate, objective task, a checklist of criteria was utilized to grade psychology term papers at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. The method appeared to generate more feedback and lead to greater consistency, as well as a better understanding among students of the grade received. In order…

An effective educational reform plan creates a compelling vision, develops a new policy environment conducive to change, and lays out strategies for involving educators, parents, business people, and community members in implementation. Traditional educational policy is biased toward the status quo, favors yearly, incremental policy-making,…

The criteria for accreditation and reaffirmation published by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) have been developed to assist institutions in evaluating their effectiveness. In this study, the criteria are reviewed. An instrument to assess the Southern Association criteria was developed based on input from the association's…

This report provides updated information on major national activities related to the development and assessment of educational outcomes of students with disabilities who are receiving special education services. The report reviews major initiatives in the areas of the national education goals (Goals 2000), standards, and national testing. The…

A project was undertaken to develop a guide to help small business programs select good education and training programs for their staff. An initial step was a review of literature related to adult education and training in small business and training evaluation. The initial plan was to have the guidebook be specific to a given industry or other…

The South Carolina State Library has prepared this document as a requirement of the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA) to account for the use of funds granted under Titles I, II, and III, for library services, public library construction, and interlibrary and resource sharing, respectively. In addition to meeting the requirements of the…

This report examines the development of tuition rates and tuition policy in Washington State's public higher education system and provides comparisons to rates and policies in other states. It also explores philosophies regarding the determination of tuition rates, along with the range of potential policy options. The draft report is divided into…

As one of several efforts to address the low retention rates of beginning teachers in California schools, the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Project (BTSA) is providing support for new teachers along with a component that assesses their classroom competencies. The assessment component and planned evaluation studies are described. BTSA…

This book presents the personal experiences of two educational researchers as they learned to conduct classroom research and combines their personal stories with an academic argument about the kinds of classroom research needed in the future. The chapters in this volume emphasize how the social science disciplines of psychology and anthropology…

This document provides the framework to guide the development of assessment instruments for the 1994 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in geography. This framework is designed to assess the outcomes of students' education in geography in grades 4, 8, and 12 as part of the NAEP. The document draws from the five themes of geography,…

This booklet is written for foreign students who wish to learn about the nature of the U.S. education system, specifically about how to gain access to and finance higher education. It is designed to acquaint readers with information on the admissions process, financial planning, and the cost of higher education in the United States. Among the…