The Economic Actions in Education training module (EAE) teaches how to handle, use and judge external standardized tests in schools. The EAE programme was implemented in teacher training at the University of Kiel, because teachers are increasingly under external scrutiny and are being held accountable for student and school achievements. The EAE…

Most institutions of higher education have some system in place for collecting student ratings of instruction (SRI) data from classes on a systematic basis. SRIs are a relatively simple way of gauging student perceptions of teaching and the course. Since the initial development of IDEA SRI in 1975, much has changed about higher education. Many…

On-going bilingual programs without regard to needs analysis; little research on the actual effects of CLIL in Colombia and vague awareness or knowledge about the necessary considerations for effective CLIL programs, underpin the need to address a particular issue of curriculum as it is summative assessment. This small scale study takes place in a…

This report describes the processes undertaken to revise the IDEA Student Ratings of Instruction (SRI) system. The previous revision occurred in 1999, as described in IDEA Technical Report No. 11, "Revising the IDEA System for Obtaining Student Ratings of Instructors and Courses" (Hoyt, Chen, Pallett, & Gross, 1999). The procedures…

This handbook is designed as a quick reference for first-year teachers who find themselves in an assessment driven environment with little experience to help make sense of the language, underlying philosophy, or organizational structure of the assessment system. The handbook begins with advice on developing and evaluating effective learning…

Educational achievement is a very important issue for parents, teachers, and the government. An accurate measurement plays a very important role in evaluating achievement fairly, and, therefore, analysis methods have been developed considerably in recent years. Education based on long-time learning processes forms a fruitful base for item tests,…

Article evaluated programs created to coordinate the Federal effort in education research and development. (Author/RK)

Describes a study which tested the reliability and validity of the Barth-Shermis Social Studies Preference Scale as a measure of teaching orientations with respect to Barth and Shermis' three traditions. Subjects were 190 secondary social studies teachers. (AM)

This report describes the instructional quality inventory (IQI), which was developed to provide quality control/evaluation procedures for the instructional system development (ISD). The ISD is described as a method used by the military to develop or revise training courses. IQI procedures are detailed in six sections. Section 1 explains the IQI…

Some of the pitfalls in the construction of multiple choice tests are discussed and examples of invalid questions given. (RM)

Criteria for making decisions about eligibility and instruction assessment procedures are discussed. Key criteria for consideration include accuracy, efficiency, reliability and validity of eligibility criteria and methods. Factors in assessment strategies for instructional decisions include selection of general teaching methods, learning progress…

This article attempts to estimate the most successful method for measuring effective teaching. (RK)

MOST OF THE CRITICISMS OF TRANSLATION IN SECONDARY SCHOOL LANGUAGE COURSES FOCUS ON THE SUPPOSEDLY DIFFICULT PROBLEMS OF SELECTING, USING, AND GRADING TRANSLATION TESTS AS OPPOSED TO THE OBJECTIVE TESTS GENERALLY USED BY ADVOCATES OF AUDIOLINGUALISM. BUT MOST OF THESE CRITICISMS FAIL TO RECOGNIZE THAT THE PROCESS OF LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE…

The concept of "curriculum alignment" is based on the principle that, if instructional accomplishments are to be reliably obtained, three things must line up: instructional objectives, testing systems, and classroom instruction. The task of aligning a curriculum is described as requiring four attitudinal approaches: (1) Teachers and…