Faculty from fifteen colleges developed open-ended questions to assess group competence in four areas of learning associated with general education--communication skill, analytic thinking, synthesizing ability, and social/cultural awareness. A secondary purpose was to determine faculty expectations for learning in the general education component…

The Phoenix Union High School System has developed a basic skills assessment program in the areas of Reading and Mathematics. Procedures and considerations used in developing the system are discussed. Preliminary results on validity and reliability of the assessment instruments are presented. An example of criterion-referenced test development…

The College of Education of the Cleveland State University opened its first graduate program in 1968. The purpose of the study reported here is to provide information for reflection about the college's past performance and for planning new directions in its graduate programs. The study uses information from college and university records,…

This ethnographic study investigated how first grade students used handheld computers to learn in collaboration with others throughout the learning process. This research focused specifically on how the use of handheld computers impacts students' learning outcomes and relates to technology standards. A qualitative methodology was used to capture…

In 1999, the Intercultural Development Research Association was established to identify 10 promising and/or exemplary bilingual education programs in schools nationwide as determined by participating limited-English-proficient (LEP) students' academic achievement. Researchers requested data on achievement, retention rate, dropout rate, enrollment…

The Office of Educational Research and Improvement funded nine projects exploring whether partnerships could help improve teacher education and induction. It created consortia of state education agencies, state agencies of higher education, teacher education colleges, and local school districts to collaborate on improving teacher education and…

Describes School Health Policies and Programs Study 2000 physical education (PE)-related findings about state-, district-, and school-level requirements and policies, standards and guidelines, student assessment, evaluation, PE for students with disabilities, collaboration, staffing and professional preparation, recess, and interscholastic sports…

The field of special education has been consistently plagued with serious personnel shortages, high rates of teacher attrition, criticisms of inadequate teacher preparation, and questionable student outcomes. The recent focus on increased standards and improved student outcomes adds complexity to this situation. Of paramount concern are the need…

Technology education is a field of study which seeks to promote technological literacy for all students. Some recent research in the field has focused on integrating content and methodology from engineering design into technology education classes, particularly at the secondary level. This study contributes to the research base in technology…

This paper presents selected findings from a three-year research investigation of general and special education reform initiatives implemented in five local school districts across the United States (including a large urban, predominately minority system; two suburban districts; a small independent city district; a large county-wide system; two…

The effect on passing scores of providing judges with pass/fail data for the various possible cut-off score levels was studied. Passing scores produced by individual judges using a modified version of the procedure of W. H. Angoff (1971) were compared with the same judges' passing scores as revised after considering information on the number of…

On account of concern about declining achievement levels of high school graduates and proposed state legislation increasing graduation requirements to address this concern, this report analyzes current and proposed high school graduation requirements in Illinois, based on data compiled from local school documents, and compares the data to…

The unique needs of the educationally disadvantaged cannot be effectively addressed by educational reforms of a general nature. Approximately 30 percent of all elementary and secondary students in 1982 were economically, linguistically, and/or culturally disadvantaged. Their number and their degree of disadvantage has been increasing rapidly due…

The effectiveness of grade point average (GPA) as a predictor of elementary school teaching performance during student teaching and after graduation was examined. Measures of student achievement, attitudes, and teaching ability, as reported by student teaching supervisors and by school principals where the graduates are employed, were compared for…

The transition of students from secondary school to college or university was reviewed by a special committee of the Council of Ontario Universities. Issues considered include: admission standards, subject requirements, advanced placement, program gaps and overlaps, evaluation and testing, transfers between colleges and universities, impact of…