Since the summer 1984 a consortium of seven diverse colleges and universities has been involved in implementing a value-added approach to assessing student progress and development. The most significant finding of this collaborative project was the importance of having a good institutional database on students. (MLW)

The movement to shift the optometric testing focus from traditional visual sciences to the biomedical sciences is fortunate, but the optometric curriculum should also be carefully evaluated and redesigned to integrate the sciences better. (MSE)

The Learning Potential Assessment Device and Instrumental Enrichment are two much needed improvements in education. Used in tandem, they rectify previous problems of testing and teaching by providing an unbiased assessment device which does not rely on labels for categories of learners. (VM)

Describes interviews with four primary age children. Uses the results of the interviews to support a shift from the assessment of performance to the assessment of understanding. (PK)

Eight alternatives to a teacher entry test are discussed, including progressive, periodic testing for recertification; mandatory ongoing training requirements; defining excellence on a school-by-school basis; optional testing for higher pay and status; broadening teacher testing to include affective factors; and rigorous multifaceted evaluation…

Examined the performance of ninth-grade students on the Self-Directed Search during small group administrations monitored by a counselor. Results indicated scoring errors were high in comparison to norms. The percentage of erroneous summary codes was higher while transposition errors were lower, suggesting group administration with a proctor…

Assessment is intended to raise in value what the public gets for the dollars it invests in education, not to raise new dollars for educational institutions. To many people within universities, assessment is perceived as a threat. Ways to reduce anxiety that comes with assessment are discussed. (MLW)

Describes the pedagogical and philosophical reasons for adopting the use of take-home multiple choice exams for introductory sociology courses. Reports students' reactions to the exams and provides a discussion of the grading conflicts which arise due to improved performance. (JDH)

Reports on a study that investigated whether significant relationships exist between reading abilities of underprepared students as measured by vocabulary, comprehension, and total reading scores and spelling scores as measured by a dictation format, a multiple choice format, and independently produced discourse. (FL)

A number of quality assurance educational evaluation methods are illustrated. Evaluation data obtained from the Providence, Rhode Island, school district are used. The methods are: (1) from auditing, internal control; (2) from accounting, double bookkeeping; and (3) from industrial quality control, acceptance sampling and cumulative percentage…

Attitude, achievement, and sex stereotyping tests administered to 11-year-olds reveal boys are more sex stereotyped; able and middle-class girls are less sex stereotyped; feminine self-image is linked to low achievement and masculine self-image to high achievement; and children endorsing sex stereotypes show less interest in science associated…

Proposes a new type of oral test, based on Grice's Co-operative Principle and its dependent maxims, to measure communicative competence. Describes the design, administration, and scoring of this timed, multiple-choice test and gives sample test materials. Discusses applications to testing languages for special purposes and ways of presenting the…

Results of a national survey on state postsecondary regulations concerning the use of competency or other tests required of college students in the course of their undergraduate programs as a check on academic standards, and the impetus for such a requirement, are reported. The policies of Georgia, Florida, and California are highlighted. (MSE)

Three innovative features of the new Caribbean mathematics examinations are discussed: increased information on candidates' performance, breadth of consultation and concern with social needs in the development of the syllabus, and conception and implementation of the syllabus as a curriculum. Appended are examples from the syllabus and…

Reports on the 1985 convention of the National Education Association noting changes in the group's politics and its efforts to present a more moderate image. One event during the convention was a march on the South African Embassy protesting apartheid. (MD)