Aligning Assessment to Organizational Performance in Distance Education Service Delivery

ABSTRACT

This article seeks to provide an understanding of the issues in and possible steps of aligning the library's assessment processes to distance education service delivery. Through a review of the literature and current practices, the researcher sought to identify the need and value of aligned performance assessment processes for libraries, the primary contributing alignment factors affecting the library assessment process, and potential benefits of improved alignment of the assessment process for libraries in aligning assessment to the distance education services provided to customers. The results of the review suggest that libraries can improve the reporting and value of their assessment processes by improving the alignment of their assessment processes to distance education service delivery in 2 ways: internally through the use of consistent and innovative processes, metrics, and culture within the library and externally by embracing the alignment factors and available technologies of the library's service environment. The library must progressively elevate the alignment of the library's assessment processes from the traditional internal nonalignment of assessment to the total internally–externally integrated aligned assessment. This article concludes with a conceptual model of aligning library performance assessment to distance education service delivery for the effective reporting of library value and performance to stakeholders.     

Using a control group to evaluate a resource room program

The effectiveness of a resource room program was examined by testing 162 second- through sixth-grade students who had learning problems severe enough to qualify them for special services. Half of the students were randomly assigned to a resource room, while the others remained in the regular class. Results indicated that the children who were provided with resource room services as well as those who spent the entire day in the regular class gained significanlty in achievement over the year-long study. There was evidence on two of the four dependent variables that the resource room students gained more than those in the regular classroom. However, additional analyses found that these observed differences were relatively weak. If the control group had not been used, gains in achievement might have been attributed to the resource room, emphasizing the importance of using a control group.     

Effects of two instructional sets on the validity of the Kaufman assessment battery for children–nonverbal scale with a group of severely hearing impaired children

The purpose of the study was to investigate the use of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC)–Nonverbal Scale with severely hearing impaired children. The K-ABC was administered to 49 children enrolled at a public residential school for the deaf. Test instructions were given to one group employing American sign language (ASL), plus pantomime and gestures, while the other group received pantomime and gesture (PG) instructions only. No significant difference was found between the two group mean nonverbal K-ABC scores. Also, neither group scored significantly different from the K-ABC norms. Both groups scored significantly lower than K-ABC norms on the Spatial Memory subtest. Significant correlations were found between the K-ABC and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R). A significant correlation also was found between K-ABC scores and Reading Comprehension. A post hoc analysis of data found that, regardless of the instructional set, the children scored significantly lower on the Nonverbal K-ABC than they did on the WISC-R Performance Scale. The study provides support for the appropriateness of the K-ABC for use with deaf children.     

The nominating convention as purveyor of political medicine: An anecdotal analysis of the democrats and republicans of 1984

This paper employs the Burkean notion of sociological criticism as a means of studying the discourse associated with the 1984 national nominating conventions. Through the use of the “mirroring” anecdote the findings indicate that the two parties organized narratives that followed distinct assessments of political reality as the Democrats told a story following a “fear and fairness” theme while the Republicans relied on a “prosperity and patriotism” theme.     

International Student Achievement Comparisons and US STEM Workforce Development

Journal of Science Education and Technology - Comparisons of US student achievement to other countries, conducted since the 1960s, have received extensive media coverage in the USA. Policy studies...