Argues that even for purposes of applied decision making, reliance upon criterion validity -- the degree to which measures correlate with specific criteria -- or content coverage is not enough, that the meaning of the measure must also be analyzed in order to evaluate responsibly the possible consequences of the proposed use, it is stated.…

A distinction is made between program evaluation and project evaluation. The former is used to determine the effectiveness of a particular program or to compare programs. The latter is used in the initial stages of program development to define and monitor progress; to identify problems at an early stage; to record what is done and why; and to…

Building on the theme that education is essential to opportunity, especially to help children escape from the boundaries of poverty, a theory of student-centered assessment is conceptualized. Student-centered assessment begins with the assumption that the aim of education is to shift effective planning and control of students' choices to the…

It is asserted that Steven's viewpoint on measurement--that scales are nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio--has a limited usefulness for behavioral scientists and researchers, and that it is necessary to develop an alternative. Some limitations of Steven's theory are discussed: (1) its assumptions about the nature and purpose of measurement; (2)…

This monograph reviews the development of goal programming models, discusses their current status, and projects research frontiers. An introductory section presents a brief history of the models and acknowledges the work of several authors in the field. The bulk of the paper is devoted to the presentation of aggregate model structures (including…

This paper provides a general description of the Consumer Price Index, giving special attention to the applicability and reliability of this survey data for revising or refining the current poverty measure. The Consumer Price Index (CPI), published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is a statistical measure of the average change in prices…

This report of a study conducted by the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) reviews, interprets, and disseminates findings of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessments in citizenship and social studies. The study represents an investigation funded by the Education Commission of the States and coordinated by a…

This report represents part of an investigation coordinated by a special Steering Committee working under the auspices of the National Council for the Social Studies. The purpose of Task 2 was to review independently the National Assessment of Educational Progress Social Studies and Citizenship exercises as to the extent to which confidence could…

To gather data on the implications of the proposition that intellectual ability should be conceived as multidimensional, 19 different measures, all of which have been employed as selection criteria for programs for the gifted, were used as a basis for selecting 5 students from 2 fifth-grade classes (N=49) for inclusion in a hypothetical program…

This booklet was developed to help teachers evaluate student courses. It is not intended to provide the basis for a total evaluation, but as a "quick and easy" method to describe the basis of awarding student grades; identify ways in which to evaluate the effectiveness of a course of study; analyze the cognitive levels of test items; list the real…

The views of E. L. Thorndike on the future of measurements of abilities, expressed 25 years ago, are summarized, and the future of measurements of abilities as it appears now is examined. Opportunities for improvement now arise mainly from increasing social concern for effective education. Measurement technology has developed rapidly and cannot…

This is the text of a colloquium of recent computer technology on psychometrics, particularly as practiced in the University of Washington's Bureau of Testing. Seven stages of career guidance are enumerated: (1) deciding what to measure; (2) developing the measures; (3) administering the measures; (4) scoring the measures; (5) weighting the scored…

Distortion and selective disclosure limit data that are available to program evaluators, producing a bias that tends to maintain the status quo. Paradoxically, attempts to objectify the data only increase the potential for distortion. Ironically, one way to encourage innovation may be to not measure it. Additional solutions are suggested.…

A questionnaire is designed to allow assessment of a simple additive value function for testing respondent preferences for different types of information used in evaluating police services. Responses are analyzed to determine what types of information different stakeholder groups consider useful. (Author/LMO)

Evaluations of special education interventions are different from research on medical interventions. Educational evaluations would be more useful if they applied an actuarial, or probability approach. Information should be collected over time and using various measures, thus increasing the available data. (GDC)