Reviews developments in the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in the education of children with visual impairments. Highlights include the population of children with visual impairments in the United Kingdom; and World Health Organization classification of disability as a criteria by which the relevance of ICT can be measured.…

A new admissions screening process was pilot tested with 30 nursing school applicants and later with 230 1995-96 applicants, who provided reference letters and personal essays in addition to grade point averages (GPAs). Those admitted had slightly lower GPAs than in prior years, but were rated higher on qualities needed for the future health care…

Measurement planning should be done simultaneously with training design. Clarifying business goals and identifying "stairstep" connections between goals and training suggest what needs to be measured and how. (JOW)

Discusses the use of performance indicators by higher education institutions for internal assessment as well as external reporting. Describes the balanced scorecard developed by Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton in 1992, a set of measures that allow for a holistic, integrated view of business performance. Explores how to create and use the…

Argues that the concept of quality is permeated by values and socially constructed to embody a modernist belief in the possibility of definitive and universal criteria that will offer certainty and order. Outlines other choices for evaluating early childhood services and their pedagogical work. (JPB)

A survey of 588 full-time tenure-track faculty indicated that two-thirds were involved in outreach; the quality of outreach activities should be judged by their effectiveness in meeting needs; and multiple measures should be used. Concerns included barriers to outreach participation and determination of what constitutes excellence. (SK)

Studied the current state of school superintendent evaluation practices across the United States using state policy guides and materials. Findings show that 8 of 50 states do not have requirements or guidelines for superintendent evaluation and other states do not meet all the essential criteria for quality personnel evaluation. (SLD)

Asserts that colleges and universities should apply the same analytical rigor to physical assets as they do financial assets. Presents a management tool, the Return on Physical Assets model, to help guide physical asset allocation decisions. (EV)

Operationalizes the new educational assessment culture. Outlines developments in the field of learning and instruction and their effects on student assessment. Also reviews five frequently used assessment methods that fit into the new culture. Explores the notion of construct validity as it applies to educational measurement. (SLD)

Interviews with a small sample of adult students revealed that even highly literate and articulate learners had difficulty understanding the assessment language used in National Vocational Qualifications. This finding highlights the alienation learners can feel when adult education discourse uses jargon instead of learner-relevant language. (SK)

Adopted a decision/action rationality framework to explore the criteria used to close academic programs at four universities. Findings suggested that decisions are based upon criteria other than those usually stated (e.g., cost, quality, and centrality), and that process leads to criteria generation. (EV)

Studied the way decisions are made by the child welfare system in neglect and abuse cases by asking 27 experts and 103 service line workers to make decisions based on written summaries of cases. Findings suggest that decision making in the child welfare system is inconsistent. Discusses developing decision-making criteria. (SLD)

This article reviews indicators used by researchers to select samples of expert teachers. Reflecting initially on the broader expertise literature and then focusing on studies of teaching expertise, the authors identify criteria used to select expert teachers that fall under one or more of the following marker categories: (a) years of experience,…

To test the relation between sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) and DSM-IV ADHD symptoms, parent and teacher ratings of the 18 DSM-IV ADHD items and five potential SCT items were obtained in a community sample of 8-18 year-old twins that was overselected for ADHD and learning disabilities (n = 296). Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that a…

This paper presents both the formal and methodological variety of ranking approaches, and asks whether a really objective ranking is possible. A ranking represents compiled information, provided according to a criterion or set of criteria. Its purpose is to highlight real or perceived differences in quality. Ranking methodology refers to its…