Describes the Juvenile Justice Educational Enhancement Program's implementation of an evaluation research-driven quality assurance process for Florida's juvenile justice educational programs. Reviews the literature on juvenile justice educational practices and describes the educational quality assurance standards and annual modifications that draw…

Outlines the procedures of the Patchwork Text coursework assignment format, discussed in the articles of this special issue, and presents a general justification of their current educational importance. Reviews current literature on assessment processes in higher education and discusses work on the nature of "academic literacies." Compares the…

Discusses the roles of testing and assessment in meeting real academic goals in standards-based reform, arguing that performance-based alternative assessment has advantages over high stakes testing. To help teachers design appropriate alternative assessment, the paper offers suggestions on what they should know and be able to do according to the…

Describes the development of a variety of computer-based assessment opportunities, both formative and summative, that are available to a large first-year biology class at the University of Sydney (Australia). Discusses online access to weekly quizzes, a mock exam, and special self-assessment modules that are beneficial to student learning.…

Describes several ways to share information with parents about their children's progress in physical education class, noting both traditional and nontraditional reporting methods, discussing standard report cards, and examining newer report cards that are based on stated learning standards and driven by technology. Additional methods of sharing…

Examines the concept of learning resources centers (LRCs) for two-year community or junior colleges. Literature is reviewed that outlines the history of community colleges and libraries; standards for junior college libraries are discussed; and results of surveys of LRCs are reported that address evaluation, collections, bibliographic access, and…

Argues against the development of national tests, standards, and curriculum. Proposes that standardized tests be replaced with assessment procedures that are compatible with a process-oriented curriculum. (MG)

Speech samples from 3 hearing-impaired children (ages 9-11) were videotaped for judgment by 5 teachers in audio-only and audio-video condition. When a teacher evaluated a child's speech using both auditory and visual information, fewer errors were typically noted than if the child's speech was evaluated using only auditory information. (Author/JDD)

To develop and validate a framework for assessing academic program quality, national data from the fields of computer science and electrical and mechanical engineering were examined. Results, which are evaluated from four perspectives of quality assessment, support the notion that single-variable or single-dimension concepts of quality are…

Qualitative assessment methods typically are holistic and integrated. Compared with standardized tests, they offer a more active role for clients, a more intimate connection between assessment and the counseling process, and greater adaptability to ethnic, cultural, age, gender, and other individual differences. (Author/TE)

Reading readiness is defined, and the assessment of emergent literacy is discussed. An informal Reading Readiness Inventory is proposed to provide a profile of students' specific strengths and weaknesses at the beginning levels. The assessment comprises such subtests as oral cloze, sound/symbol relationships, and instant recognition of high…

The use of readiness assessment rather than chronological age for admission to kindergarten is proposed. The article examines why this approach is needed, how it might be accomplished, and the relative advantages of admitting by readiness assessment compared to chronological age. (JDD)

To predict an at-risk group of kindergarten students, structured input from 34 parents was obtained, in addition to results of a standardized screening instrument. Results indicated that both parents' input and standardized tests contributed uniquely to the early identification of children at risk for not achieving in school. (Author/JDD)

Nineteen learning-disabled and 10 emotionally disturbed pupils, aged 8-15, were assigned randomly to computer-assisted curriculum-based measurement (CBM), pen and paper CBM, and contrast groups. CBM students exhibited more specific knowledge of their spelling goals and felt they received more frequent and more graphic displays of performance…

Describes an approach to curriculum development that has evolved out of a learner-centered philosophy of second and foreign language teaching. The use of information about and from learners for decision-making at each of these stages is illustrated with data from the Australian Adult Immigrant Education Program. (Author/VWL)