Since the publication of "A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform" by the U.S. Department of Education in 1983, American higher education has faced the need to develop its own effective means of learning assessment to forestall the prospect of government-imposed standardized procedures. The latter potential may have moved closed…

Questions assumptions implicit in the fifth objective of National Education Goal 5, calling for critical thinking, communication and problem-solving abilities. Outlines strategies for a national assessment/improvement program, including setting goals, preparing faculty to foster student learning, gathering evidence on outcomes, and using…

A survey of 23 college and university coordinators who conduct assessment activities and report findings in connection with Tennessee's 15-year performance funding initiative reveals strengths and weaknesses associated with 10 indicators of institutional performance. Reasons for the program's longevity, designed to serve accountability and…

Provides a rationale for career education as a criterion for selection of social studies texts. Outlines stages of career education K-adult. Includes a checklist for assessing texts and a statement of NCSS goals relating to career education. (CK)

Five criteria for judging college or university performance indicators (PIs) used to guide strategic decision making are outlined. The criteria address: purpose; alignment of PIs throughout the organization or system; alignment of PIs across inputs, processes, and outcomes; capacity to accommodate a variety of evaluation methods; and utility in…

College faculty do not know enough about the current generation of college students, what they seek in college, how they spend time, what they expect of faculty and themselves. To accomplish the college's objectives for students' intellectual and personal development, they need the cooperation of student personnel workers, who work with students…