Maintains that the standardized teacher/course evaluation form has become a ritual at virtually every major U.S. university. Argues that many good teachers are unrewarded, ineffective ones win prizes, and the evaluation process is a means of monitoring political orthodoxy. (CFR)

Provides evidence that students who participated in the ASSET One-Stop Shopping program demonstrated enhanced academic progress and achievement. Includes suggestions for fostering student success in college. (17 citations) (YKH)

Discusses analysis of student transcripts at Niagara County Community College, which showed a positive correlation between success in basic skills courses and success in regular college courses. (YKH)

New textbooks for teaching English for Special Purposes (ESP) are reviewed, including texts for science and technology, computing, engineering, and electronics as well as a guide to general classroom techniques and activities for ESP teachers. Criteria for evaluating and selecting instructional materials are also addressed briefly. (MSE)

A University of Minnesota pilot study of administrator evaluation had administrators (n=46) help define the leadership behaviors and outcomes on which they would be evaluated, then gain feedback from peers whose opinion they valued. The feedback process was computerized. Participants perceived the method as fair, valid, reliable, and personally…

A survey of 96 United States and 9 Canadian medical schools found that the large majority accepted students with learning disabilities and claimed to make some academic accommodations. Most would administer nonstandard (i.e., nontimed) licensing examinations, and many reported that their affiliated postgraduate medical-training programs would also…

Sharing information orally is an important skill that public speaking classes teach well. However, the author's students report that they do not often see informative lectures, demonstrations, presentations, or discussions that follow the structures and formats of an informative speech as it is discussed in their textbooks. As a result, the author…

The race is on to survive the competitive educational market which nearly everyone can now access with the click of a mouse. Many institutions are turning to DETs to tap into this market. The difficulty is evaluating the effectiveness of these tools and the education that is provided by them. Implementing a new DET is neither a simple matter nor a…

Computer-based testing (CBT) is typically implemented using one of three general test delivery models: (1) multiple fixed testing (MFT); (2) computer-adaptive testing (CAT); or (3) multistage testing (MSTs). This article reviews some of the real cost drivers associated with CBT implementation--focusing on item production costs, the costs…

The experiences of a chemistry professor and a physics professor at a regional branch campus of Penn State University are described. In both instances, the faculty members had previously served as teaching assistants at a research intensive institution, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The unique pedagogical struggles involved in…

Texas' and Oregon's experiences in building a performance measurement and reporting information system (PMRIS) for their adult literacy programs were compared. The Oregon PMRIS development effort was a multiyear project involving 10 programs and calling for collection/reporting of data regarding 10 of 272 benchmarks recommended by the Oregon…

This collection of statistical data on school library media programs is designed to assist local educational agencies in examining their library media collections and staff according to the recommendations in "Standards for School Library Media Programs in Maryland." Information on library media centers in nonpublic schools and…

Developmentally appropriate evaluation (DAE) and developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) are clearly allied. The concept of DAP has expanded to include cultural, economic, ethnic, religious, and familial appropriateness. These same concepts are equally applicable to appropriate evaluation. Factors to consider for appropriate evaluation include:…

This compendium of statistical data is a companion to the document entitled "Scorecard on Colorado Public Higher Education--How the Public Higher Education System and Its Students Perform on Selected Measures," which examines selected performance measures for Colorado public higher education institutions. Data in this document are…

This document reports on the third year of the assessment component of the California New Teacher Project (CNTP). In the first 2 years, research focused on pilot testing innovative forms of new teacher assessment. Part of the third year study was a careful review of the state of assessment practices in California. The study was designed to yield…