This study investigated the Individual Learning Plans of eighty-eight students who were deaf and hard of hearing attending facilities and schools for the deaf in Victoria Australia. The students' assessment and planning portfolios were scrutinised for evidence of formal and informal assessment used to generate goals for the Individual Learning…

Semester assessment of college wind band members is an issue that conductors would probably agree falls within their academic freedom. Institutions may award as little as no credit or even a percentage of a credit for ensemble participation, although the time and effort required of the students and their conductor is undoubtedly equivalent to, or…

There are 11 behavioral dimensions which parents and preschool teachers can use in assessing the development of preschool children. These dimensions are: (1) sleeping; (2) eating; (3) toilet habits; (4) range of affect or emotion; (5) variations in play; (6) curiosity; (7) acceptance of authority; (8) initiative; (9) interest; (10) spontaneous…

Offers guidelines for effective implementation of informal assessment procedures at the middle level. Accompanying each guideline is a sample strategy to enhance the informal assessment procedure. Guidelines are: (1) create a classroom environment that is conducive to informal assessment; (2) encourage students to engage in self-reflection and…

This article presents a method for combining several descriptive indicators to yield an aggregated single summative index of the overall quality of the services received by clients in a service delivery system or program. The method described is based on the judgments of an evaluative panel. (Author/CTM)

Evaluation and grading are individual and unique components of the formal learning/teaching process. Both acts embrace moral as well as ethical concerns which demand thorough, reflective attention. As teachers, we must admit to the subjectivity of both and use that subjectivity in a positive striving toward fairness. Our concern should be with the…

Investigates how teachers of young children typically evaluate their students' work, focusing on the standards applied. Includes issues and recommendations made after observing different standards. (AS)

This study examined the attitudes, knowledge bases, and practices of 20 cooperating teachers and 20 student teachers regarding evaluation of pupil progress. Teachers often wrestled with balancing district demands for grading with pupil needs for affirmation and guidance. The complexity of the process and implications for teacher educators are…

Stake's concept of responsive evaluation is designed to provide various decision makers with the kind of information desired and in the form most helpful for making decisions. Compared with formal research procedures, this approach has both advantages and disadvantages. It may also provide a valuable supplement to formal evaluation. (CTM)

Judgmental Policy Analysis was used to form models representing the judgmental policies of 73 educational personnel as they rated 16 programs in which characteristics were varied. Although the judges varied in criteria used and in consistency, the results illustrate potential uses of a methodology for studying the judgmental evaluative process.…

The validity of two subjective approaches to judging in synchronized swimming were examined through a multitrait-multimethod matrix. Results indicated that judging panels tended not to differentiate between execution and content scores. (Author/JKS)

Highlights the importance of a positive first visual impression of a childcare center to prospective clients. Provides a facility assessment checklist with 44 questions in the areas of: (1) building and landscape; (2) entrance; (3) hallways and common space; (4) classrooms; (5) playground; (6) children's communications; and (7) staff…

Argues that there are many sources of information about schools other than standardized tests and questionnaires, and stresses the value of careful, unobtrusive observations that are well focused and intelligently interpreted. Lists numerous unobtrusive criteria for possible use in evaluating students, school programs, and school personnel. (JG)

Discusses the fundamental principles of evaluation to show that the conventional approaches to testing have led to a situation where procedure requirements overshadow the objectives of the learning process. Advocates instruments that address realistic communication goals and states criteria based on the learner's need for continous, constructive…

Problems in improving the reliability of essay marks are examined in this Australian study that considers the markings of 338 essays, each marked by one of 13 graders. It is concluded that improvement is needed but the changes necessary for the improvement are not feasible. (LC)