A project developed and tested an Institutional Effectiveness Assessment Guide (IEAG) that incorporated themes and factors identified by Wardlow et al. (1992) as contributing to excellence. An interpretive design was used to enable researchers to gain input and consensus from participants of exemplary institutions regarding the institutional-level factors that contribute to excellence in vocational education. Wardlow's factors were organized into the following themes and subthemes representing related items: school climate, administrator attributes, instructor attributes, student attributes, curriculum development, and institutional marketing/vocational student organizations/support services. Those items were then developed into quantitative assessment items and organized within the original thematic areas. The IEAG was administered to samples of students, administrators, instructors, and advisory committee members. Because the instrument was based directly on the attributes of exemplary institutions, it was found to possess both face and content validity. The instrument was tested for both internal consistency and stability as two forms of reliability. (Appendixes, amounting to over half of the report, include 20 references; IEAG User's Manual, including information on its testing, instructions for administration, interpretation guidelines, and an outline for institutional improvement; IEAG--Student Version; and IEAG--Administration, Instructor, Advisory Committee Member Version.) (YLB)