There is a gap in the current research literature regarding evaluation of TAFE outcomes and it stems from a predominant human capital focus. The existing paradigm of human capital, which values the acquisition of knowledge and skills for their economic value, has been of primary interest and significance, particularly in terms of government policy…

This paper is about the structural equation modelling of quantitative measures that are obtained from a multiple facet design. A facet is simply a set consisting of a finite number of elements. It is assumed that measures are obtained by combining each element of each facet. Methods and traits are two such facets, and a multitrait-multimethod…

In order to build a knowledge-based society and meet the needs of lifelong education, open learning opportunities are growing at exponential rates. While such growth is commendable, there appears to be a very strong demand for distance guidance services in open education programme selection. The purpose of this study was to develop the online…

As the general public demands to know what and how students are learning, schools face some unprecedented issues of accountability regarding student performance. In order to acquire data which is accurate and useful, teachers are turning to more formative assessment methods. These methods convey the ideas that assessment should engage students in…

The Kentucky Education Reform Act established learning standards that were higher than those of previous educational systems. The main gauge for assessing how well students measure up to these standards is a statewide system that evaluates what students know and can do. In 1991, the Kentucky State Board for Elementary and Secondary Education…

Although the realities of higher education accurately match the aims of early educators, there are limits to our ability to measure the learning that occurs in colleges and universities. As higher education has been made available to a greater quantity of participants, the demand for accountability has increased. Accountability concerns vary for…

The exploratory and secondary phases of the "Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) project to develop a set of international indicators based on comparable educational data is described in this report. Voluntary networks in 24 OECD member countries are developing a cohesive conceptual framework based on a review of…

The major purpose of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is to provide information useful for improving the quality of American elementary and secondary schools. NAEP has focused more on the measurement of academic achievement than on the need for information on learning contexts. Additional information is needed about why…

This paper explores some of the issues involved in developing an index of functional literacy that can serve diagnostic purposes. In 1985, Secretary of Education William J. Bennett outlined principles for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), including a principle calling for NAEP to "develop an index of functional literacy…

The scientific concept of intelligence has been heavily influenced by the technology of measurement. The variables which can be measured have been made the operational definition of intelligence. This approach differs from a deductive approach, in which a theory of cognition in general is used to derive the sorts of measurements that must be taken…

The 1988 assessment of U.S. history objectives by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the first such assessment in U.S. history. This booklet presents a framework of objectives for U.S. history courses, including: (1) the chronology of people, events, documents, and interrelationships that form U.S. history; (2) the context…

Follow-up studies are necessary for investigating the long-term, enduring, anticipated effects of bilingual education. Investigations need to be based on a recognition of their value to educational audiences, the relative merits of research issues, attention to the problem of attrition, proper selection of dependent measures, and the merits of…

This document discusses the need to control curriculum quality and describes two methods to assess school districts' efforts at curriculum quality control. Exercising such control means effecting a congruence between what should be taught (the school district's objectives), what is taught, and what students learn. In the first method of assessing…

How the "Levels of Program Objectives Model" (LPOM) can be used to carry out objectives-based evaluation is explained. The LPOM explains the relationship between an instructional program of a district and various programs supporting the district program. The evolution of an objective-based evaluation approach within the context of an…

The main purpose of this paper is to facilitate discussion of important issues concerning validity and to work toward a framework that the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Board Research Committee will find useful in assigning priorities and initiating projects. The background, scope, and meaning of the concept of the "validity" of the…