A broader definition of quality in medical student residency training is offered to guide development of outcome quality measures. The definition includes the following dimensions of program quality: student characteristics; cost-effectiveness; degree to which it meets society's needs; and fair and ethical selection, assessment, and treatment of…

Asserts that traditional approaches to multivariate analysis, including standard linear regression techniques, ignore the special character of count data. Explicates three suitable alternatives to standard regression techniques, a simple Poisson regression, a modified Poisson regression, and a negative binomial model. (MJP)

W. Edwards Deming condemned performance evaluations as a deadly disease afflicting American management. He argued that performance evaluations nourish fear, encourage short-term thinking, stifle teamwork, and are no better than lotteries. This article examines library literature from Deming's perspective. Although that literature accepts…

Higher Education's "accountability movement" is being accompanied by greater use of performance indicator systems in response to external mandates in the United States and Europe. These indicators are usually designed to examine institutional productivity relative to the public investment made in it, as contrasted with evaluation of…

The performance review process used for faculty evaluation at Nene College (England) was assessed by surveying appraisers, appraisees, and senior administrators. Most appraisees and appraisers thought that appraisers should be line managers rather than peers, and that classroom observation should be included. Opportunity for staff to communicate…

Describes a preliminary study that was conducted to examine the collection development practices, selection criteria, and sources used in acquiring Native American literature for children and adolescents in public libraries in Alaska and Oklahoma. Results of a literature survey are discussed, and further research is suggested. (Contains 36…

An undergraduate pharmacy course unit designed to teach skills in reading, interpreting, analyzing, and critically evaluating research and presenting findings to peers, is described. Specific course objectives, criteria to be used for evaluating research, and a summary of student responses to a unit evaluation are appended. (MSE)

Gives descriptions of how performance assessment tasks are linked to science curriculum objectives, along with criteria for and examples of performance assessment tasks. Describes the role that computers and related technology can play in problem-based performance assessment. (LZ)

Discusses a project to implement an alternative system for university admission based on clearly defined competencies in several subject areas, i.e., culture, writing, speaking, listening, reading and transferable skills (provisional). Developing national standards will inform this project, assisting in the creation of common goals in foreign…

Results from a performance assessment in which 68 high school students wrote essays support the use of latent variable modeling for estimating reliability, concurrent validity, and generalizability of a scoring rubric. The latent variable modeling approach overcomes the limitations of certain conventional statistical techniques in handling…

Analysis of 73 University of Florida faculty portfolios, prepared as part of an instructional improvement program, revealed great variability in quantity, quality, and coherence of evidence presented to support claims of excellence in teaching. Seven guidelines for portfolio preparation, appropriate for different colleges and teaching assignments,…

Provides guidelines for purchasing and installing CD-ROM technology in school libraries. Considerations include hardware and software selection and familiarity with new products. Two lists are provided that contain contact information for six companies and recommendations for six standard CD-ROM reference sources to include on a network. (JKP)

Twenty-one sites that have integrated informal departmental collections with library systems were surveyed. Respondents offered recommendations on assessing feasibility, identifying collections, establishing work roles, and choosing centralized versus decentralized approaches for sharing information about departmental collections. Political and…

Discusses experiences in finding appropriate child care for a 10-month-old American infant in Israel. Criteria included location, caregiver-child ratio, caregiver background and training, physical plant, and equipment. Noticed consistent and intense interest in child's welfare, even by strangers on the street. Caregivers allowed child greater…

One essential factor in educational reform is the quality of teacher education candidates. Raising admission standards for students in teacher education programs is one of the most common means of increasing the quality of candidates. This article discusses the pros and cons of teacher and teacher candidate testing. (SM)