This paper examines the use of environmental scanning for institutions of higher education to achieve the following objectives: (1) provide early warning of changes that will have an impact on education; (2) define potential threats and opportunities to the institution or department; (3) promote a future orientation in faculty; and (4) alert…

Studies suggest that the traditional technique of one-way lectures used most often by teachers results in about 42% retention after class, and 17% a week later. To improve both student learning and institutional effectiveness, colleges should support faculty development programs that expose teachers to two-way teaching and learning processes.…

This sampler discusses California's English-language arts assessment program and presents examples of middle grades reading assessments, writing assessments, and writing prompts. The first section of the sampler takes an integrated look at the changes which make up the new English-language arts assessment. The second section presents the scoring…

Discussion of the evaluation of training programs for teachers of English as a Second Language consists of: (1) characterization of general approaches; (2) review of reasons for interest in program evaluation; and (3) description of a University of Northern Iowa (UNI) evaluation project that uses a portfolio approach extending 3 years beyond…

The 1993 CAUSE Conference included eight papers on the adoption of Total Quality Management (TQM), in its various forms, by information technology (IT) sections of colleges and universities. Papers have the following titles and authors: (1) "The Impact of TQM on an IT Organization: The First Eighteen Months" (Paul M. Morris), which…

In 1992-93, high school and college forms of a questionnaire on rank in class (RIC), grade point average (GPA), and college admissions were developed and mailed to high schools and colleges. Usable returns were received from 2,175 high schools and 1,109 colleges and universities. To elaborate on questionnaire data, in-depth interviews were…

This conference proceedings presents 17 papers which examine quality assurance and evaluation in higher education, including methodologies, procedures, and ideas from various nations. The papers include: (1) "Quality Assurance in Higher Education" (Malcolm Frazer); (2) "Academic Standards Panels in Australia" (Kwong Lee Dow);…

Action research is a way to examine purposes and practices in teaching. One way of conducting action research is to engage in participant observation, which may be seen as a systematic attempt to discover the knowledge that a group of people has learned and is using to organize the group's behavior. Participant observation has a great deal of…

Intended for teachers from kindergarten through adult education and for administrators, this book demonstrates how teachers have created environments that facilitate whole language evaluation. Articles in the book discuss strategies used in evaluating students' growth across many curricular areas, including reading, writing, and second language…

A Writing Anxiety Scale (WAS) was developed. A literature review and interviews with writing instructors identified nine components of writing behavior (Empathy, Expression, Evaluation by Others, Motivation, Organization, Procrastination, Self-Esteem, Technical Skills, and Writing Anxiety). A pool of 146 items were written to reflect the…

This paper proposes use of an assessment tool called "commodity relations," to measure national knowledge resources to help companies make better site selections for international production operations. The paper first reviews traditional measures of human capital, such as average years of education per individual and literacy rates. The…

This book is about resource-based learning, a means by which educators can teach their students to be lifelong learners. The eight chapters contain information to help students learn how to find, process, and evaluate the information they need to handle the task at hand: (1) "Surviving in an Information Age" examines the information…

This report reviews California higher education academic program evaluation activities from July 1988 through June 1989. An introductory chapter discusses the meaning and purposes of program evaluation, accreditation, and outcomes assessment at institutional and state levels and the Commission's role. The second chapter reports on planning for new…

This monograph presents identified best practices in the development of Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSP) as required for families who have young children with disabilities, by Public Law 99-457, the Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments (1986). Chapter One presents an overview of the monograph's development and use. Chapter Two…

Proof of the value of bilingual education programs is usually based on evaluations which measure success solely on the basis of student test scores. An alternative method of evaluating such programs as it is implemented in three bilingual education programs in Connecticut elementary schools is reported in this paper. Eleven first- and second-grade…