The paper explains the role of the Schools Council for the Curriculum and Examinations and how it functions in relation to the education system, discusses areas of reform, and presents a brief review of the Schools Councils proposals for a new examination structure. (MW)

Conference papers on aspects of motivation and language teaching include: "Motivate Who?" (Frederick D. Eddy); "Motivation and Language Learning the following: Psychological Aspects" (W. E. Lambert); "Discussion of Professor Lambert's Presentation" (Karl S. Pond); "Linguistics and Motivation" (Robert L. Politzer); "Discussion of Professor…

Four methods of measuring students' comprehension of French literature are discussed. The first method involves traditional comparison of themes or characters. Themes may concern war, women, or love, for example. Characters may be compared from the same or a different era or genre. The second approach uses the association of the material being…

This guide to Alberta's French 30 standardized test describes the testing program and administration, the test parts, and test scoring for both teachers and students anticipating taking the test. Dates and times of test administration and scoring dates in 1990 are charted. The two parts of the test are described in some detail, including their…

A study examined the responses of five university students from linguistically diverse backgrounds to an unfamiliar essay examination task to be performed in English. Subjects were an East Indian educated entirely in English, a Korean-English bilingual, a Norwegian fluent in English, a black middle-class American, and an urban American. Data were…

The paper examines varieties of program assessment in institutions of higher education and proposes a procedure to implement systematic assessment of program outcomes. Presented in a question-and-answer format, the paper first addresses common faculty concerns about formal assessment in sections titled, "Why Not Use GPA (Grade Point Average)?" and…

A study was conducted to establish the construct validity of measures designed to assess topical knowledge. Thirty-one ninth-grade students and 44 third/fourth-grade students were interviewed to ascertain their knowledge about 4 topics; 2 weeks later they responded to 3 tests of topical knowledge. Results were analyzed quantitatively and…

The Vocational Interest Survey (VIS) is a set of six questionnaires for measuring vocational interests. It is designed to be used in career counseling with persons 15 years and over, who want to explore and understand their vocational interests. Completion of this inventory requires: (1) active participation of respondents, (2) a setting where…

This study encompassed the collection of teacher reported (N=326) testing practices and the direct assessment of teacher-made tests (N=175) for item cognitive functioning levels and construction errors. Focus was on assessing the nature and quality of teacher-made tests used in public school classrooms and describing the classroom teachers'…

This handbook addresses the most frequently asked questions about international travel and exchange and gives suggestions to help parents, students, and school personnel avoid some of the problems arising from exchange activity. Chapters include information about: criteria for evaluating and selecting foreign travel and study programs;…

Focusing on appropriate methods and criteria for identifying giftedness in elementary visual arts students, the study consists primarily of an annotated bibliography divided into three sections: childhood visual art development (9 entries); selected identification procedures and instruments (25 entries); and identification techniques in the…

Four different systematic methods for selecting passing scores which differ primarily in the types of judgment they require were compared. The borderline group method and the contrasting groups method were each compared with the Nedelsky method at four schools and the Angoff method at another four schools. The Basic Skills Assessment Tests in…

This report is essentially a "map" of the available reports prepared to evaluate the Comprehensive School Mathematics Program (CSMP) over a nine-year period. These evaluations were conducted during the development and pilot testing of CSMP by an evaluation staff independent of the program developers and guided by an external evaluation…

A pilot project determined whether a proposed essay addition to the new General Educational Development (GED) test batteries, scheduled for release in 1988, could be successfully administered and scored in local test centers with an acceptable degree of test reliability and validity. Conducted in cooperation with the GED Testing Service, the…

This 1986 study of high school seniors addresses two topics. First, it reports seniors' attitudes toward and opinions about school, teachers, and school problems. Second, it compares the attitudes and opinions of high school seniors with those of Americans in general and those expressed by parents of high school students. Responses to questions in…