As school closures enter their second month (and more in some countries), the European Training Foundation's (ETF's) second report, as part of their #learningconnects campaign, on how 27 countries neighbouring the EU are coping finds that more structured responses to the COVID-19 pandemic are emerging in education and training. This update finds:…

As most countries are emerging from the first phase of the COVID-19 crisis the European Training Foundation's (ETF's) latest mapping, as part of their #learningconnects campaign, finds that they share common challenges on moving forward. The lockdown continues in most countries of the EU neighbourhood and Central Asia. In Belarus, Tajikistan and…

The Internet has become the primary source for obtaining information at work, at home, and for school. Because Internet reading increasingly is becoming one of the central ways students are acquiring information, in 2016, PIRLS was extended to include ePIRLS--an innovative assessment of online reading. ePIRLS is a computer-based assessment that…

The ETF [European Training Foundation] has published a report focusing on how 27 countries neighbouring the EU are coping with COVID-19 in the field of education and training, as part of our #learningconnects campaign. The report includes information about countries from South Eastern Europe and Turkey, the Eastern Partnership and Russia, the…

This article deals with a pioneering project currently being developed, namely, the Exhibition on Testing and Measurement. This interactive traveling exhibition will be presented in science museums in Israel, the United States, and other countries. It has been conceived as an innovative means of familiarizing the public with educational…

While much of the work in language testing is concerned with constructing quality tests in order to measure language knowledge in reliable and valid ways, there has been a significant movement in language testing research that examines tests in the context of their use in education and society. This line of research exits from the notion that…

Professor Elana Shohamy was born in New York and moved to Israel at a young age. It was an interesting time for the country and the Hebrew language. In this article, Professor Shohamy shares her keen insights into her experiences growing up in Israel. She obtained her teacher's certificate from David Yelin Teacher's College in Jerusalem,…

The present report describes the psycho-educational services referral pattern in the school system serving both a permanent Bedouin town A and its vicinity in Israel's Negev desert. The subjects of the study were students in the school system in A between the years 1997 to 2002 (with additional data from 2004). The total number of referrals to…

The marking, or grading, system used in Israel is discussed in terms of its history and current use. A standardized assessment instrument used as a practical biology matriculation test, the Practical Tests Assessment Inventory, is described. (LMO)

The Minimum Requirement Program (MRP) was introduced in Israel in the 1960s but was discontinued. The Parenthesis Program, a 1962 revision of the original program, restricted objectives in the syllabus which were deemed too difficult. Achievement gaps between population subgroups existed in the 1980s when a new MRP was developed. (GDC)

Describes the Context Information System, a prototype retrieval system designed for online searching in an educational environment. Use of the system in Israeli high schools to encourage the development of research skills is discussed, emphasizing the use of databases for hypothesis testing and comparative analysis of data. (six references) (LRW)

Across five continents, operant testing schemes are the assessment equivalent of an English jumble sale. Test types, rationales, preparation times, and scoring practices are equally diverse in Australia, Brazil, Canada, the Czech Republic, England, Germany, Israel, and Japan. Most systems are in flux or under scrutiny. (MLH)

Discusses the Mabar experiment underway at WIZO High School in Rehovot, Israel. The experiment aims to make Bagrut exams accessible to students thought incapable or uninterested in taking the exam. (CK)

This journal includes the following articles on teaching English as a second language: "Information for English Teachers"; "Approved Textbooks for the 1984-1985 School Year"; "Oral Bagrut Examinations--Revised Rating Scale" (Rafael Gefen); "Books for Grade Four" (Penny Ur); "Determining the Character of…