This booklet is designed to provide parents of elementary and junior high school students with an understanding the purpose and nature of homework and suggestions for helping their children complete homework assignments successfully. After a discussion of why teachers assign homework, how homework can help children learn, and the optimum amount of…

These guidelines are designed to help sponsors and producers meet the standards expected of educational materials and activities aimed at schools in the United Kingdom. The guidelines are also designed to help teachers, parents, and school board members assess the sponsored materials and activities offered to the school. The guidelines aim to…

This issue contains five articles about assessment in adult literacy programs. The first article, "Living Literacy: Rethinking Adult Learner Assessment" (Susan L. Lytle), focuses on developing alternative forms of assessment such as literacy portfolios to identify changes in four dimensions of adult literacy over the course of literacy…

This manual provides information on and instructions for administering the Work Experience Survey (WES), a 30- to 60-minute structured interview methodology to help individuals with disabilities direct their own accommodation planning. Section 1 describes the WES, which consists of six sections: (1) background information on the respondent, (2) an…

Authentic evaluation of educational achievement directly measures actual performance in the subject area. Standardized multiple-choice tests, on the other hand, measure test-taking skills directly, and everything else indirectly or not at all. Also called performance assessment, appropriate assessment, alternative assessment, or direct assessment,…

Due to automation technology, financial restrictions, and resultant downsizing, library managers have increasingly relied on the services of contractors, rather than in-house staff, to accomplish different technical services operations. Contracted services may range from a small project for a selected group of materials to a large project for…

A new paradigm is proposed for thinking about educational software, based on a the mutual interaction of the perspectives of those concerned in the use of educational software: the student, the teacher, and the software designer. This rejects the usual checklist approach and leads instead to an approach to software selection closely associated…

This document outlines the model that was jointly developed by representatives of the Texas Education Agency and University of Texas at Austin (UTA) to inject the state's existing health science technology education (HSTE) program with tech prep components and Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) competencies. Presented…

This technical assistance planning guide was developed as part of the PEERS (Providing Education for Everyone in Regular Schools) Project, a California project to facilitate the integration of students with severe disabilities previously at special centers into services at regular school sites and to facilitate the integration of students in…

The objectives of this document are to assist teachers in understanding the holistic evaluation process, in developing a sound evaluative process for the school physical education program, in effectively communicating progress to students and parents, and in self-evaluating teacher performance and the program. The document includes basic…

This packet contains handouts for training school and community personnel to implement Project STEPS (Sequenced Transition to Education in the Public Schools), an interagency program to facilitate transition of young children with disabilities. A sample agenda for a 3-day training session is provided. Handouts are organized into the eight modules…

This digest addresses principles of planning science programs for high ability learners. It notes various evaluation reports that have reviewed needs in science learning and teaching, identified essential science concepts and processes, and evaluated teacher enhancement programs and curricula. Research on gifted learners in science is briefly…

Evaluators of software for education must make a series of decisions about which issues have a direct impact on their choice of software. Instructional context analysis is the first step, including identifying the learners, the instructor, the learning environment, and technical needs and limitations. The next step is instructional goal analysis;…

This brief discusses the transition of high school students with disabilities to adult life. Federal law provisions that require a transition plan for all students who have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) are reviewed and a checklist is provided that outlines positive transition planning practices that can be used for self-evaluation and…

The purpose of this booklet is to provide practical information to owners, operators, and occupants of office and commercial buildings on the vulnerabilities posed by earthquake damage to nonstructural items and the means available to deal with these potential problems. Examples of dangerous nonstructural damages that have occurred in past…