Evaluation of the National League for Nursing's 1991 Criteria for Baccalaureate and Higher Degree Programs using Huebner's value frameworks (technical, scientific, political, esthetic, ethical) finds the values incorporated to some degree. The new criteria shift power in curriculum design to individual nursing units, allowing adoption of…

Understanding the effects of testing on students is critically important in the face of an inexorable movement toward a national testing program. Proponents thus far have stressed only the positive effects; neither the harmful effects on low-achieving students nor the program's costs and benefits have been appropriately discussed. This article…

Describes the evaluation of a new model for software evaluation that emphasizes the collection of student performance data to determine the extent to which students learn the knowledge a software package intends to teach. Discussion covers the results of two studies, evaluation criteria and methods, evaluator subjectivity in decision making,…

Sees universal adoption of master's degree in rehabilitation counseling as hiring criterion requiring its validation in relation to job performance. Proposes large-scale validation study involving state-federal vocational rehabilitation agencies that would make use of extensive existing vocational rehabilitation database, and relate type and level…

A tongue-in-cheek look at methods used for curriculum development by many colleges and universities compares the process to two others: destruction of trees and trial by ordeal. Forests are destroyed to produce large quantities of paper for printing of curricula in many versions, followed by Kafkaesque committee scrutiny. (MSE)

Discusses the use of entrance tests to admit students to mass communication programs. Advocates finding out precisely what an entrance test measures, and whether it matches what the curriculum demands of students. Recommends two essay tests that evaluate writing skill better than an objective test. (SR)

Describes a Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis Approach for the selection of personal computers that combines the capabilities of Analytic Hierarchy Process and Integer Goal Programing. An example of how decision makers can use this approach to determine what kind of personal computers and how many of each type to purchase is given. (nine…

A systematic investigation of the Grice modeling scheme for response time (RT) clarifies fundamental notions about RT modeling. The analysis presented can be used to determine what in a certain RT model constitutes a set of empirically testable assumptions and what is merely an arbitrary choice of mathematical language. (SLD)

Solutions to conceptual and technical limitations of average-cost measures in the development of college and university performance indicators are examined. One concerns the guidance and control examples of the polytechnics and the second concerns the input, throughput, or output character of cost-related indicators. (Author/MSE)

The 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act expands in two major ways the rights of the disabled established in the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This article describes the new act's reasonable accommodations provisions (pertaining to Title I and Title II) as they apply to public and private schools' employment procedures and student admissions…

Examined internal consistency reliability of Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) for 311 Black and 1,450 White students between ages of 2.5 and 12.5 years. Differences between various K-ABC composite, subscale, and subtest reliability coefficients for two groups were nonsignificant; reliability coefficients across comparisons were…

Identifies four microcomputer-based software packages for scheduling and evaluates their usefulness for scheduling employees in a library setting. Evaluation criteria are applied to (1) Schedule Master, from Schedule Master Corporation; (2) Schedule Plus, from Cyclesoft, Inc.; (3) Who Works When, from Newport Systems; and (4) Working Hours, from…

Stresses the importance of accepting the premise that there is no such thing as a perfect evaluation system. Recognizes that there is a need to improve the existing process to make promotion and tenure decisions more equitable and effective. Argues for a systematic and impartial decision-making process for faculty and chief executive officers.…

Evaluators should help teachers promote professional excellence, improve student learning, and realize classroom consistency. Consistent evaluators possess certain skills, including gathering factual data, observing objectively, gauging teachers' effectiveness at reinforcing lesson plans, establishing ameliorative guidelines through clinical…

Describes a study comparing the perceptions of teachers and administrators in northwest Ohio regarding the criteria considered important in the evaluation of secondary school teachers. Reports significant differences between teachers and administrators on nearly one-third of the items on the questionnaire, with disagreements occurring in a variety…