It is important for assessment programs in higher education to provoke good internal evaluation efforts, but it is also hard to turn an assessment program into a viable evaluation program. This is because there are so many different audiences for the information being gathered about programs. Assessment as discussed in higher education literature…

This document contains the proceedings of a conference focusing on the emerging need for postsecondary educational opportunity programs in New York state. The conference consisted of a series of addresses on issues such as the status of equal educational opportunity programs and the changing climate of higher education and the disadvantaged. In…

Methods of assessing professional competence involve both licensing procedures, as well as assessment based on satisfactory performance of tasks associated with a professional's duties. Relicensing and/or mandated continuing education courses should not be used to ascertain professional competence in place of a demonstration of acquired skills…

This paper defines alternative schools, exploring such critical parameters as their organizational context and structure, their curricular focus and pedagogical approach, and their governance. Also reviewed are some of the studies of experimental schools. Prior research is placed in the context of a critique which argues that more detailed…

Directors of 39 projects funded by the federal Consumers' Education Program were interviewed about their attitudes toward federally mandated evaluation. The projects were varied, and included activities such as consumer workshops; development of curriculum, materials or policy; inservice training; consumer advocacy/counseling; and television…

Four problems underlying the delivery of technical assistance in Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I evaluation are discussed: (1) the dual missions of facilitating the implementation of the Title I Evaluation and Reporting System and of facilitating the local use of evaluation information frequently require tradeoffs between…

An analysis of criticism leveled against student grading is presented, and a rebuttal is offered. Twenty-two criticisms of grades are divided into four categories; that grades are meaningless, unimportant, unnecessary, and harmful. In response to the criticism, it is pointed out that grading tends to motivate student achievement, provides rewards…

A school program for disadvantaged youngsters should be like that in any good elementary school but with added compensatory features. Such innovations include reduced class size, a stabilized experienced staff, special services and resources, and a parent education program. Evaluation procedures should be continuous and instructionally oriented,…

An Approach to formative evaluation is described that attempts to actively involve students and explore the meaning of processes, activities, and performances in terms of the wide variety of students' perceptions and responses. When poor student performance is not attributable to lack of effort or ability, the need for a more personal…

A study was conducted in order to develop a systematic method for the evaluation of students' prior, non-sponsored learning for the award of college credit at Blackhawk College (Illinois). It was determined that a course designed to prepare the student for assessment of prior learning was the best way for the institution to provide assistance to…

A step-by-step method for designing and improving evaluation methods is presented for educators who are in the position of evaluating an educational gathering of adults. This method is to insure that evaluation instruments are: (1) accurate enough to provide valid data; (2) short enough to be filled out by a large group of evaluators in a hurry to…

The bilingual situation in Illinois is described briefly, and an outline of the instructional objectives of local bilingual programs is given. The programs are to be: (1) measurable and oriented toward the end-of-year-product, and (2) organized within the guidelines for state-funded bilingual programs. The main part of the report describes the…

The definition of evaluation as the collection and interpretation of systematic information about the effectiveness of alternative educational practices suggests several functions of evaluation in education, including: (1) Assessment of the needs of learners, (2) evaluation of program plans, (3) assessment of congruence between plans and actual…

The critical problems, needs, and issues in early childhood special education are formulated, and an overall framework is suggested for their solution. What is called for in early childhood special education is an expansion of the educational and child development data banks, the creation of a Child Early Warning System (CEWS), the funding of…

The purpose of this study was to obtain information that will make it possible to plan for the development of occupational competency assessment procedures in a rational manner, based on the expressed needs of occupational educators and employers. Eight fields were selected for scrutiny: Accounting, Agribusiness, Data Processing, Day Care,…