Listening and speaking are active language skills and need special attention in English language pedagogy, especially in ESL/EFL contexts. English in India is taught as a second language in almost all the states, and the secondary education boards stipulate the teaching of all the four language skills as the objective of teaching English, yet the…

This synthesis examined the effects of peer tutoring on academic performance of students with disabilities in Grades 6 through 12. Twelve studies met all the criteria for this synthesis: (a) original studies, (b) published in peer-reviewed journals between 1997 and 2007, (c) investigated peer tutoring in special education students in Grades 6…

Reports findings of a study conducted to determine whether the amount of training and experience readers have had in using a particular grading scale correlates with their judgments about the quality of an essay, and whether the amount of training and experience affects the consistencies of their judgments. (EL)

Sharing explicit grading criteria with students does much to facilitate both student and teacher growth. (JH)

Discusses the criteria and difficulties that teachers experience in trying to assess science process skills for the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) assessment program. Presents a case for both formal and informal assessment of pupils. Provides examples of assessment criteria and a model assessment item. (CW)

This presentation describes the use of portfolio assessment in a teacher education course "Teaching Reading in the Content Areas," which is required for secondary certification. Portfolio assessment provides students with opportunities to determine which skills are most congruent with their respective areas. The main body of this paper…

Reported is a study of the relationships between the component skills involved in practical work assessment. Skills assessed included observing, manipulating, planning, interpreting, reporting, and self-reliance. The literature relating to inter-skill relationships is reviewed. (CW)

Criticizes the secretaries of state for education and science because their nationally agreed upon statements on course objectives, content, and assessment methods are too narrow and confining. (DF)

A technique for critiquing secondary and college level students' photography is described. The structure of the students' photography assignment should include the following categories of information: (1) artist's intention; (2) subject; (3) technique; (4) composition; (5) miscellaneous considerations, such as mood and symbol; and (6)…

As one of a series of sharply focused booklets based on concrete educational needs, this booklet provides teachers with educational theory and research on evaluating classroom speaking and presents suggestions for the application of the theory in regular classroom situations. The section on theory and research begins by describing a model of the…

Because competency evaluation is such a critical part of educational administration, a clear, unbiased system for evaluating administrators is needed. This article proposes a model with clearly stated competency areas, a list of example indicators, an evidence requirement, and weighted competencies. Includes five figures. (MLH)

Describes a new cooperative venture between the Kansas Scholastic Press Association and the Nebraska High School Press Association, in which adviser-judges from one state evaluate publication from the other. (SR)

Offers four strategies to press association directors on how to structure an evaluation service. (SR)

Maintains that all staff--not just editors and advisers--should read and learn from judges' critiques of their publication. Describes a process for doing so. (SR)

Identifies several problems inherent in developing valid and reliable evaluative criteria for group performances and suggests some practical ways for dealing with these problems. (MH)