While assuming the uniqueness of the educational organization, educational administrators can nevertheless learn five important principles from business management. The five principles are: (1) defining organizational goals; (2) implementation of goals on a cost-effective basis; (3) monitoring and assessmentof staff performance; (4) a formal…

This book is a guided inquiry into the newly emerging technology of adult education based on an original theory of andragogy (the art and science of helping adults learn) as distinguished from pedagogy (teaching children and youth). Its central thesis is that adults in certain crucial respects are different from young people as learners, and that…

To help equip persons in leadership positions with procedures and techniques needed for obtaining valid and reliable evaluative data, this institute involved 100 applicants, several alternates, and consultants in various planned activities. The institute focused on these major purposes or outcomes: (1) Participants would learn additional…

The author reviews various current approaches to evaluating pupil achievement, evaluating instruction, and using grades, grade point averages, and class rank. Such issues as the philosophical and psychological bases for selection and use of evaluation instruments, the use of performance objectives, ways to reduce subjectivity in grading, the use…

This document examines the design and structure of PMIS (Planning and Management Information System), an information system that supports the decisionmaking process of executive management in local school districts. The system is designed around a comprehensive, longitudinal, and interrelated data base. It utilizes a powerful real-time,…

A taxonomy of programmatic tasks in an educational evaluation and facilitation coordination system which encompasses tasks appropriate for evaluators, members of an evaluation unit, and members of facilitation and coordination units is proposed. In this comprehensive approach to the evaluation process, the taxonomy classifies and specifies tasks…

The visible claims of the current accountability movement are examined critically, and an alternative philosophy and a developing system are offered. Areas examined include the psychological implications of accountability philosophies for teaching staff, certain educational measurement problems, and the availability or adequacy of operating…

This guidebook is designed to assist postsecondary occupational educators in the conduct of local program evaluation efforts. The Reality-Based Evaluation (RBE) system for program evaluation has been designed to be flexible within a general recommended structure and is intended to be adaptive rather than adoptive. A major tenet of RBE is that…

Department chairpersons, college deans, and members of college-level personnel committees at Bowling Green State University (BGSU) were interviewed concerning their use of procedures by which college students measure or evaluate teaching, teachers, and classes. All regular teaching faculty at BGSU and associated administrators also were asked to…

A national survey of liberal arts colleges' institutional policies and practices in evaluating faculty performance and classroom teaching, focusing on the changes in evaluation since 1978, is reported. Factors considered, their frequency of use, and sources of information for evaluation are examined. (MSE)

Respondents (n=321) to a survey of learning disabilities teachers in the Chicago (Illinois) Public School system reported that, while they found several assessment procedures to be useful, they relied primarily on standardized test results for informing educational decisions. Most teachers indicated they had high levels of competency with all…

Effects of variations of program evaluation purpose and methodology on decision-making information needs of various stakeholders were examined with 475 participants in planning for early childhood special education (223 administrators, 140 service personnel, and 112 parents). A program evaluation's purpose and methodology differentially affect…

Elementary-aged students (n=106) who had been referred for evaluation as possibly mildly/educably mentally handicapped were administered audiometric and visual acuity tests. Discriminant function analysis found no relationship between test results and classification/placement as mildly handicapped. Alternate testing procedures are recommended for…

A series of 19 questions illuminates the characteristics of effective performance assessments in 3 sections: (1) the nature of assessment; (2) properties of effective tasks; and (3) making tasks meaningful and engaging. A fourth section offers practical suggestions for the construction of performance assessments and for teacher involvement. (SLD)

The National Science Foundation practice of using scientifically qualified program directors, some from university laboratories, to make grant-giving recommendations independent of external peer reviewers is compared with the practice of other agencies. A recent policy of allowing program directors to make some small grants without external peer…