Sometimes an assessment program becomes well-established, nationally recognized, "proven" effective, and thus stuck in its routines and reasoning, becoming just another university bureaucracy for the teachers and students who work within it. The pedagogical question was how to keep an assessment program, or writing program for that…

The report describes the University of Florida Multidisciplinary Diagnostic and Training Program (MDTP), jointly administered through the Department of Pediatrics and the Department of Special Education. It functions as a diagnostic, training, and consultative resource to local school districts in north central Florida and provides short-term…

Coordination of roles of academic departments, evaluation units, and institutional planning units is advocated as an effective approach to evaluating educational program and student performance outcomes. A model to effect this coordination is described in terms of purposes, characteristics, and structure. In the process model, four guideposts,…

The experience of Kansas communication educators in developing speaking and listening assessment has been characterized by unusual cooperation and collaboration among members of the educational community and the professional communication organizations at several different levels. In 1992, the Kansas State Legislature established the Quality…

This paper first compares Vermont's old Individualized Education Plan (IEP) which was designed primarily to insure legal compliance with the new family-centered IEP. It then describes the new IEP. Vermont's new family-centered IEP process emphasizes increased collaboration, reduced paperwork, and legal compliance. Three questions serve as a focus…

To reduce Army training costs, the Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) investigated use of training at civilian secondary and postsecondary vocational-technical (VOTEC) institutions as an alternative to initial job training in Army service schools. Three models were used in the pilot study: the preservice training model in which…

In 1989, the Kentucky Supreme Court determined that the state's public school system was unconstitutional and called for the General Assembly to "recreate and re-establish a new system of common schools." A new system of accountability in language arts departments required portfolio assessment that was both objective and strictly…

Between 1986 and 1993 Australia developed a national curriculum framework of statements and profiles in eight learning areas. These areas were (1) English, (2) mathematics, (3) science, (4) studies of society and the environment, (5) arts, (6) health and physical education, (7) technology, and (8) languages other than English. This development…

Under the leadership of a new superintendent, Nebraska City (Nebraska) school district coordinated curriculum across the K-12 grades and schools by involving the teachers and community. At multiple department meetings, staff held conversations about student performance objectives. Community conversations were held with a cross-section of parents,…

Initial efforts to validate a developmentally appropriate assessment system for use with children aged 3 to 7 years are described. The Project Construct Assessment System is part of a comprehensive framework for curriculum and assessment that is predicated on the theory that children construct their own knowledge. It features a variety of…

This paper describes the use of cooperative teaching to teach all students in the general education classroom and the three most promising approaches to implementing cooperative teaching: team teaching, supportive learning activities, and complementary instruction. The first method, team teaching, is defined as having the initial presentation of…

This paper describes "Microcomputer Applications for Educators," a course at Fontbonne College for pre-service teachers which introduces the educational applications of the computer and related technologies. The course introduces students to the Macintosh computer, its operating system, Claris Works 4.0, and various other educational and…

Changes in mathematics instruction in vocational programs in Swedish upper secondary schools are intended to improve mathematics skills so students will perform better on national mathematics tests. Curriculum requires that all vocational students in Course A take 100 hours of mathematics instruction, but nearly 50% of them have been failing.…

Like most cooperative education programs, the one at Nashville State Technical Institute in Tennessee benefits all concerned--the student, the college, business and industry, and the community. Among the many benefits of the cooperative education program are the following: clarification of student career goals, provision of relevant professional…

Performance level assessment (PLA) is a type of supplementary evidence system for competency-based assessment that is being pilot tested at five technical and further education (TAFE) institutes throughout Queensland, Australia. The PLA system uses the following three levels of performance: competency achieved; competency achieved with credit; and…