A particular trait of the educational system under socialist reign was accountability at the input side--appropriate facilities, centrally decided curriculum, approved text-books, and uniformly trained teachers--but no control on the output. It was simply assumed that it met the agreed standards, which was, in turn, proven by the statistics…

Educators in Europe are complaining about mishandled changes in a key English-language test and are demanding that the Educational Testing Service (ETS), which runs the examination, delay plans to introduce its new online format in March 2006 in more than 100 countries. Critics of the planned change in the Test of English as a foreign Language…

THE AUTHOR POINTS OUT PROBLEMS IN TEST RESEARCH AND INTERPRETATION, SOME OF WHICH ARE DUE TO CONFLICTS BETWEEN THE FINDINGS OF THE DATA ANALYST WHO IS RESTRICTED TO BASING HIS DECISIONS ON SELECTED DATA ONLY, AND THE TEST INTERPRETER WHO IS AWARE OF VARIABLE VALIDITIES OF SUCH UNTESTED FACTORS AS SITUATIONAL ANXIETY, PERSONALITY, MOTHER-TONGUE…

Prepared by four state-appointed task forces, this report recommends policies and procedures for basic skills education in the State of Washington to assist local and statewide planning. Following introductory material on the mandate and members of the task forces, Section I considers the organization and management of developmental programs,…

Innovations, ETS's corporate magazine, provides information on educational assessment for educators, school leaders, researchers and policymakers around the world. Each issue of Innovations focuses on a particular theme in assessment. This issue reports on how new technologies in classrooms around the world are enhancing teaching, learning and…

A handbook for University of Georgia graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) is presented that provides practical information about teaching for inexperienced GTAs as well as experienced teachers who seek new ideas. Attention is directed to: responsibilities of assistantships; relationships with faculty and with students; policies, procedures, and…

Innovations, ETS's corporate magazine, provides information on educational assessment for educators, school leaders, researchers and policymakers around the world. This issue on how classroom assessments in five U.S. states and several foreign countries expand educational opportunities for all students. Articles in this issue include: (1) Keeping…

Shows that foreign students frequently need special help with English and tells how a university organized a remedial writing program for foreign students who demonstrate a deficiency in technical writing skills. (GW)

The problems associated with using the Educational Testing Service's Test of English as a Foreign Language as a valid indication of English language proficiency are discussed. (HP)

This "Glossary" is a compilation of the terminology used to designate examinations, qualifications and titles in 30 European education systems. It covers almost 1000 specific terms of this kind. The aim is to offer readers the definitions of frequently used terms that they might encounter when reading about or dealing with the education…

Information on teaching techniques, student evaluation, and campus resources is presented for new teaching assistants. Topics include: lecturing, leading discussion sessions (especially in the humanities and social sciences), teaching the laboratory section, teaching a section of a course, teaching a foreign language, office hours, and use of the…

The washback effect of tests on teaching has attracted considerable attention over recent years, but the critical question of how this translates into washback on learning remains under-explored. To address this issue, questionnaires relating to academic writing instruction were distributed to 108 learners from mainland China preparing for…

As part of the Projects for International Education Research, information is provided on Norwegian education and recommendations for admissions and academic placement of Norwegian students studying in U.S. colleges and universities. The overview on Norwegian education includes information on the structure of the system, the 9-year basic school,…

The educational system of the Commonwealth Caribbean is described, and placement recommendations concerning students who want to study in the United States are presented. After a description of primary education, the secondary education systems of Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Barbados, and other territories are discussed. Information is…

Three volumes of the "TESOL Newsletter" from 1976 and November 1975 present articles on different aspects of teaching English as a second language. Many of the articles discuss teaching techniques, including: (1) a discussion of teaching written English through sector analysis, (2) a description of a counseling-learning model for second language…