As standards documents have been introduced over the past 20 years, many states have seen an evolution in both the standards and related high stakes exams. For many teachers across the U.S., the rollout of standards and exams has not been an experience that builds trust in state education leaders. In this study, we consider three major changes in…

The National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) held a virtual meeting of an Interim Assessment Advisory Panel on February 16 and 17, 2021, to tap into the panel members' collective knowledge about using interim assessments to support valid interpretations of what students with disabilities know and can do. The panel represented…

The use of peer review as a way to improve dissertation quality is addressed. A data set involving ratings of 52 dissertations illustrates possible design and analytic choices that may be helpful in using a peer review model. Strategies for evaluating rating consistency and validity are covered, along with analysis of four types of program policy…

The politics of assessment in New Jersey are examined in this study. Two basic questions addressed are: (1) what roles did competing interest groups play in the development and utilization of statewide assessment? and (2) has the controversy over the Educational Assessment Program (EAP) changed the impact of any of these groups on the future…

Describes the change in Duke's English department and departments in general by using historical examples that reflect then current attitudes towards the humanities and scholarship. (CRH)

To study grading standards and consistency within the English department, 1600 freshmen at Rockland Community College were asked to complete a uniform exit essay at the end of English 101. After developing criteria for grading the papers, members of the department marked their own papers and one other set. Eight months later, 240 of the papers…

New York State has embarked on a major effort to enhance the quality of public schooling. All schools must develop curricula ensuring that students meet minimal performance standards and provide remedial programs for those who do not. Because many school districts with low enrollments or low wealth are having difficulty complying with Board of…

When a new administration came to Michigan's Wayne County Community College (WCCC) in 1985, the college evidenced several characteristics of a failing institution: poor media image, continuing budget deficits, declining enrollments, and probationary accrediation status. To address these problems and the demoralization that had accompanied them,…

Grade distribution patterns at Humboldt State University in California were examined over a five-year period on the basis of mode of instruction and by academic department. The grade distributions for each academic department were compared with the other departments within the same school, and the distribution for each school was compared with…

Facing the problem of a wide discrepancy in grading standards for student essays, the English department at a Texas community college developed a standardized method of grading students' expository and persuasive essays. The department established a committee of 10 full-time instructors whose objective was to standardize grading for all required…

Teachers in all disciplines must demand good writing from students if they want their writing to improve. When good writing is demanded only in English classes, students develop a double standard for their writing. To make teachers in other departments aware of their responsibility for the quality of student writing, English teachers can take the…

Describing the evaluation and planning process at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, this document presents guidelines, procedures, and indicators used at the college for the systematic review of academic departmental effectiveness. First, the five-column program review model used at the college is outlined and the purposes of review are…

An accreditation self-study was conducted by the University of Houston Central Campus. In the process of establishing the academic priorities for departments two dimensions were assessed: the current quality of the academic programs and the centrality of each program to the stated mission of the college under which it was housed. Based upon a…

An evaluation of the "Discovering Democracy" program, launched by the Commonwealth government in May 1997 to provide civics and citizenship education in schools across Australia, recommended developing a Web site to disseminate curriculum resources. This paper defines a prototype by examining the features of Web sites established by…

Three common policies used by English departments in Kuwait universities to accommodate the students in appropriate course types and levels are discussed and compared from a practical perspective. The three policies are concerned with placement tests and remedial courses and are intended to: (1) place students with high scores on the standardized…