A behaviorally anchored rating scale serves as a foundation for an effective human performance resources management system. Suggestions for developing an evaluation form for seasonal park and recreation employees are discussed. (DF)

Offers a framework for assessing the adequacy of computer resources and planning for demands for additional resources. Identifies evaluation issues and questions, reviews information on norms of recommended expenditure levels and student access levels, and discusses data needs concerning expenditure and access measures. (AYC)

Discusses how issues involved in establishing the type of master teacher evaluation system called for in Tennessee's Comprehensive Education Reform Act apply to reading specialists: arbitrary selection of measures and criteria for assessing teacher effectiveness; utilization of alternative approaches including self-, student, and observer…

Working parties established by the Secondary Examinations Council are devising grade-related criteria for use with the new General Certificate of Secondary Education Examination (GCSE). The aim is to produce in each subject a set of performance criteria covering GCSE grades A-G. The work of the physics group is discussed. (JN)

Essays and essay tests need to be a central feature of every class. Informing students about what is inadequate in their essays and counseling them on how to improve seem to be impossible, time-consuming tasks. The use of codes or abbreviations is described. (MLW)

Two new American Bar Association rules can help school executives determine whether to use the board's attorney or hire their own private attorney. Various situations are cited to show the advisability of choosing one over the other. (KS)

Discusses what to look for in training materials, focusing on educational value, cost effectiveness, and user support. The special advantages of the computer for training are also considered. (JN)

Questions repeatedly arise about whether evaluations of research papers are systematically influenced by factors unrelated to quality, such as gender or prestige of the authors or reviewers. This study examined the reliability of reviews of proposals submitted for inclusion in the 1984 American Educational Research Association annual meeting…

While Mosenthal's Context Pyramid Model of Classroom Writing Contexts is a useful framework for guiding research on writing, it is argued that the model is actually a special case of earlier conceptual frameworks for research on memory and cognition by Jenkins and Bransford. (BS)

This article asks and answers the following three questions concerning curriculum evaluation: (1) why evaluate curricula; (2) if curriculum evaluation can be justified, then what are useful curriculum evaluation questions; and (3) given the constraints of time, money, and expertise, how can useful curriculum evaluation be conducted? (DCS)

Argues that criteria for assessing excellence in higher education should be based on a definition of excellence which stresses how well people, programs, departments, or institutions perform. Maintains that excellence occurs when people, programs, or institutions perform beyond expected levels. (BL)

Describes the operations of the National Diffusion Network, a system for (1) identifying locally developed programs that are educational successes, (2) creating awareness of the programs, and (3) providing training so that programs can be replicated in other locations. (FL)

Offers 10 suggestions to help teachers avoid the pitfalls encountered by unknowing software purchasers. Suggestions include checking for compatibility, determining objectives, testing for material sequence, and reading the documentation. (FL)

Identifies factors to consider when evaluating educational software and describes additional criteria for evaluating software for physically disabled students. Software design which complements school curriculum and is accessible to nondisabled and moderately disabled students is presented as a solution. Sammy Series programs developed to meet…

Replies to argument presenting evidence against a model of habituation during early infancy which was based on the selective adaptation of feature detectors. (Author/BB)