Comparative research was conducted on two preservice teacher education field experience programs. The "Tutoring Program" was designed to place participants in active teaching roles by having them prepare remedial lessons and tutor pupils. The "Teacher Apprentice Program" was designed to expose participants to a full range of teaching…

Student ratings of teaching are suggested as useful for: (1) improving teaching, (2) providing data relevant to judgment about teaching effectiveness, (3) aiding student choice of course and instructor, and (4) stimulating student thoughts about education. Student ratings should not be used as the single measure of teaching. (MLW)

Demonstrates the role the guarantee of due process can play in ensuring that vital interests in public education not be lost through erroneous assessments of a student's proficiency in basic skills, and describes the limits constitutional and statutory guarantees of equal educational opportunity place on the use of competency testing. (Author/IRT)

Review of congressional hearings leading to the enactment of the Education Amendments of 1974 (Public Law 93-380), the initial response of the United States Office of Education, and the study conducted by the National Institute of Education as mandated in Section 821 of PL 93-380. (MH)

Institutional eligibility to receive federal funds as determined by the Office of Education is examined. The coordinated use of accreditation and accrediting agencies in the eligibility process is recommended. Priorities are presented to resolve the problems of determining institutional eligibility. (BH)

Educational organizations must harness forces within their own systems and in the larger environment that could stimulate changes that will make school systems viable learning systems. One way is to adopt organizational patterns and management concepts being developed by business, industry, and government. "Matrix" organizations are also…

Many high schools offer the Advanced Placement Program of college level courses validated by external examinations. This program was supplemented eight years ago by the College Level Examination Program designed to measure nontraditional learning, opening a new field of academic gamesmanship. The following article describes these games. (Author)

Membership in the worldwide community means that students must possess globally competitive skills. In 1993, the author and the Colorado General Assembly worked to pass a comprehensive educational reform strategy that established "model" content standards in mathematics, science, geography, history, reading, and writing. Uniform…

Discusses two approaches for evaluating distance education. One collects six categories of evaluation information (measures): activity, efficiency, outcomes, program aims, policy, and organization. The other identifies key questions needed for effective evaluation and methods for determining outcomes in five areas: accountability, effectiveness,…

Globalization has brought market and business practices into universities, but with serious negative ramifications. Interviews with 253 U.S. and Australian faculty, plus additional data drawn from New Zealand and Canadian studies, focused on the rise of performance-based accountability and corporate managerialism and their effects on faculty…

Addresses the discord between school-reform efforts and many jurisdictions' accountability requirements. The paper explores the elements of school accountability systems that aid and impede innovative practice. Information comes from principals at 20 reforming schools who spoke about the impact of accountability tests on school reform. (SM)

In the United States, large-scale assessment is beginning to be used to promote educational system accountability and improvement. Widespread dissatisfaction with student outcomes and public schooling is fueling the search for alternative assessments as a part of educational reform. (SLD)

The federal government's war on fraud, waste, and abuse in expenditure of federal funds has reached college campuses. Institutions that fail to heed this development are vulnerable to harsh sanctions. They must tighten accounting practices and recognize their liability for fraudulent practices of faculty and students. Internal investigations and…

This article presents an interview with Professor Ralph W. Tyler (a pioneer in the field of education and assessment) that lends some historical perspective to the current alternative assessment movement. After highlighting Tyler's contributions, the article provides six caveats on assessment, then reflects on Tyler's work. (SM)

Discussion of the field of educational media and technology focuses on external forces in society that will shape its destiny. Highlights include demographic and cultural changes; family structure; globalization; changing nature of the workplace; technological developments including digitization, communication, technical convergence, and…