Asserts that only by evaluating the effectiveness of distance education programs can their use be justified and their quality improved. Discusses how to conduct formative and summative evaluations of distance education programs. (EV)

Describes work on the issue of self- and peer-assessment by twelve science teachers in six schools in London and draws on the teachers' written accounts. Describes the rationale and the practices developed as well as whether or not the new classroom methods described are practicable. (Author/MM)

Used as an explicit evaluation tool, group discussion could encourage ongoing reflection on the program and on individual and group learning. Learner interests are thus interwoven into ongoing process evaluation. (SK)

Describes some outcomes of a project in which teachers from six schools developed formative assessment in their science classrooms. Discusses three main areas of work: (1) questioning in classroom dialogue; (2) quality of such questions; and (3) feedback on homework. Indicates that teachers saw that the changes were transferring more of the…

Discusses the findings of a two-year research project on formative assessment in New Zealand among science teachers. The characteristics of formative assessment include responsiveness, sources of evidence, a tacit process, use of professional knowledge and experiences, and an integral part of teaching and learning. (Author/MM)

Examines the effects of a formative assessment with detailed feedback on students' science learning achievement and attitudes regarding formative assessment. Involves (n=133) ninth grade students from Seoul and administers pre- and post-tests for learning achievement and attitude regarding formative assessment. (Contains 16 references.)…

Peer assessments are recommended for overcoming the difficulties that teachers have with providing individual feedback and assessing student progress in physical education classes. A peer assessment can be used as a learning task (in a progression) or a formative assessment. A peer assessment is a variation of peer teaching, an instructional…

Seventh-grade science teacher Sonia Mangano stared at the results of her district's mid-year science assessment and asked herself, "Why is it my students seem to have trouble with matter-related ideas? Our district's spiral science curriculum builds on previous concepts from year to year. Yet these results show my students have difficulty with…

From March 1999 to August 2000, the authors were involved in simultaneous internal and external evaluations of the social civic and political education (SCaPE) project in Northern Ireland. This project was a major initiative established by the Citizenship Foundation, the Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum, Examination and Assessment…

The purpose of this exploratory study is to examine the use of interim assessments and the policy supports that promote use to improve instruction, focusing on elementary school mathematics. The authors use the term "interim assessments" to refer to assessments that a) evaluate student knowledge and skills, typically within a limited…

This case study offers an in-depth look at how one school achieved change in its culture and in its approach to curriculum and instruction. The unit of analysis for this single case study is South Loop Elementary School (SLES) and the time period is from August 2002 to June of 2007, during which SLES students demonstrated sharply improved…

The purpose of the study was to compare the practices used by HRD professionals to evaluate web-based and classroom-based training programs within seven Korean companies. This study used four components of evaluation to examine how HRD professionals evaluated web-based and classroom-based training programs in their organizations and compared the…

Since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (2001), districts, schools, and educators are pressured to collect, analyze and report data annually regarding student performance. If high-stakes assessments are to be useful tools for educators in their classrooms, the data need to be applicable in conveying meaningful instructional information…

Overcome budget cuts, lack of leadership, top-down mandates, and other obstacles to professional development by using this book's take-charge approach. Joseph H. Semadeni guides you through a systemic method to professional development that: (1) Motivates teachers to continuously learn and apply best practices; (2) Makes adult learning activities…

Advances in assessment technologies are affording teachers and students new ways to efficiently assess and track achievement while also better promoting learning. WriteToLearn is one such technology, a Web-based tool that integrates practice and assessment in reading comprehension with writing about what is learned. Based on the principle of…