The business college at University of West Florida is currently in the throes of implementing an assessment initiative to develop student learning outcomes, design assessment devices to measure learning, analyze the measurement results to identify learning shortfalls, and establish feedback mechanisms to modify the curriculum to address the…

Part of a system by which local education agency (LEA) personnel may evaluate secondary and postsecondary vocational education programs, this fourth of eight components focuses on evaluation of facilities and equipment. Procedures are suggested by which the local evaluation team, cooperating with a staff steering committee and a citizen's advisory…

A project to assess needs of educable mentally retarded (EMR) children and adults in three Florida counties reports findings and recommendations. EMR population findings show that many of the 224 EMR students have language deficiencies, and that most cluster at 11 and 15 years of age; recommended are early intervention, language programs, and…

This resource guide is designed to be a companion to the Educational Quality Indicator Program (EQuIP) Manual, a compendium of state-adopted quality indicators of program quality in adult education for Florida. The resource guide contains information sheets, references, tips for program improvement, resource persons and suggestions for further…

The challenge facing the speech communication profession is finding appropriate assessment procedures that are acceptable to administrators of state testing programs. The first option is simply to do nothing. A second alternative is standardized assessment. Speech communication professionals prefer a third testing procedure, performance-based…

The Beginning Teacher Program in the Dade County Public Schools, Florida was developed to facilitate beginning teachers' attainment of specific generic teaching competencies through supervised support for a full school year. This report examines how many mandated and other procedures in the program were implemented and to what extent the teaching…

Five states (Georgia, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Florida, and Arizona) are currently either administering or field-testing classroom observation systems for certification or employment decisions regarding beginning teachers. In Georgia, a beginning teacher has three years to demonstrate competence. Observations are completed by an external data…

Intended for use by personnel in Florida local education agencies, this guide presents an overview of each of the eight components in a system for planning and conducting a data-based locally directed evaluation of secondary or postsecondary vocational education programs. The system is described as one whereby program products are compared with…

The state policy implications of using higher education performance indicators for accountability purposes are examined, based on the experiences of 10 case study states (Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, New York, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin) and others that have initiated such efforts. Specific issues that must be…

Few would disagree that grade inflation is a major problem at colleges and universities across the country. In this article, the author argues that a significant contributing factor-perhaps the single most important factor has been the institution of the now almost universal practice of administering anonymous, multiple-choice student evaluations…

The research and development (R&D) projects funded by the Florida Division of Vocational Education are intended to have utility for vocational educators in their efforts to improve vocational education programs and practices. This project was conducted to determine why some R&D products are accepted by potential users while others are not…

The role of musical intelligence was investigated in grades K-3 at a central Florida elementary school. Teachers implemented the Theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI) of Howard Gardner in elementary curricula. The guiding question in this research was: What, if any, musical growth takes place as a result of a MI curriculum? The extent and quality…

In Manatee County, Florida, not only did they build career tech programs into career academies, but they also developed an evaluation process to ensure these career academies were credible. A District Academic team created the "Documentation of Academy Assessment Criteria" with 12 core components and a rubric that helps evaluators…

Annually, ACT provides a snapshot of the college and career readiness of ACT-tested high school graduates. This report is offered as a service to inform policymakers and practitioners about selected indicators of effectiveness and how that translates into readiness. It is designed to stimulate discussion, inquiry, and action. This report for the…

This third edition of the "ES Review" brings together, in one setting, some of the best work from 2008-09. It features: (1) K-12 Accountability (Measuring Skills for the 21st Century (Elena Silva); Beyond the Bubble: Technology and the Future of Student Assessment (Bill Tucker); Testing the Limits (Bill Tucker); Changing the Game: The…