A three-part review process is proposed as an aid to textbook selection for college courses. After an introductory discussion of the importance of developing standards and criteria for selecting course texts, the three-phase process is presented. The initial phase involves the establishment of departmental criteria for textbooks, which may be…

Recent research has shown that when subjects are asked to make a judgment or decision based on incomplete information, they may infer or impute a value for the missing information based on their perception of the relationship between the missing and the presented information. To examine how clients evaluate and choose between therapists on the…

The materials in this paper were drawn from an action caucus called to seek common criteria for the presentation and judging of oral interpretation and forensic tournaments. The first section of the paper consists of presentations made by participants. Topics covered in these presentations are (1) consistency in judging, (2) the role of oral…

Intended for administrators, the booklet outlines procedures for evaluating district special education programs. An introductory chapter presents the rationale for evaluation as an efficient management tool. A review of the literature addresses five stages in evaluation: (1) defining the evaluation model, (2) collecting evaluation information, (3)…

The relative worth of any evaluation instrument depends on user needs and the material being evaluated. Potential users of a good computer assisted instruction (CAI) instrument include purchasers, authors, reviewers, and publishers of CAI materials. Although each user has unique needs, a good instrument will serve both to educate and discriminate,…

The parallel analysis method for determining the number of components to retain in a principal components analysis has received a recent resurgence of support and interest. However, researchers and practitioners desiring to use this criterion have been hampered by the required Monte Carlo analyses needed to develop the criteria. Two recent…

Increasing attention is being given to the psychometric adequacy of recently published structured child interviews. Three published child interviews, The Child Assessment Schedule (CAS), The Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents (DICA), and The Interview Schedule for Children (ISC) were evaluated in terms of the available evidence of…

"A Nation at Risk" (1983) recommended that teacher salaries and promotions should be based on merit evaluation, not merely on experience and education, as is the current practice. Problems arise because of varying merit pay definitions and difficulties involved with judging teacher effectiveness. Researchers have found that developing…

In all likelihood, computer use in early childhood will continue to increase. However, there is reason for concern about how computers will be placed into classrooms, what activities will be chosen for children, what interactions will take place, and whether these interactions will consider appropriate readiness and development levels. Computers…

Noting that plain language laws--designed to put the consumer on a more equal footing with business and industry when signing business contracts--have become an important new kind of legislation, this paper traces the development of such legislation and the need to evaluate its effectiveness. The first section of the paper describes the federal…

The grading system for technical practicums in theatre at California State University, San Bernandino uses an evaluation form completed by each student's practicum supervisor. The evaluation form gives concrete evidence that there are viable criteria for grading practicums, and also helps if a student wishes to challenge his or her grade. Usually…

This study looks briefly at work done in the field of teacher selection. It then examines the interviewing arrangements at Balls Park College (Australia) in 1970-71, when candidates were being selected for the teacher training course which began in October 1971. An attempt is made to discern relationships existing among: (1) the data available to…

This paper discusses four criteria for selecting covariates when utilizing the analysis of covariance in quasiexperimental research: completeness, causation, independence, and fallibility. Completeness is the extent to which the known or suspected sources of bias are accounted for by covariates used in an experiment. Causation is the requirement…

This booklet, written for parents and other citizens concerned about education, discusses some of the reasons why the arts are--and should be--a part of every student's basic education. Seven reasons are listed and discussed: arts as communication; arts and creativity; arts and understanding human civilization; arts and learning other subjects;…

This digest identifies the issues which must be addressed to make instruments and procedures for assessing school counselor performance efficient, fair, valid, and useful. (BH)