Argues that educational focus is stronger and clearer with educational competencies rather than with educational objectives. (SL)

Performance on assessment items using pictures to describe or state the problem situation was found to be less than performance on items testing similar content without pictures. These problems are analyzed; possible explanations and a review the related research literature are included. (SD)

Presents a comparative analysis of the psychometric properties of three group tests of logical thinking used in science education research. Findings dealing with Longeot's Test of Logical Thinking, Lawson's Test of Formal Reasoning, and Tobin and Capie's Test of Logical Thinking demonstrate a lack of concurrent validity. Includes recommendations.…

Reviews a study that analyzed the inquiry-oriented matriculation tests of 12th-grade biology students (N=3650) in Israel for the purpose of finding the interrelationships among 21 process skills. Discusses the seven factors that emerged from factor analysis and indicates the theoretical and practical implications of the findings. (ML)

Gender differences in children tested at grades two, four, and six over an eleven-year period are reported. No significant gender differences or gender by grade level differences were found, but there was a downward trend in performance on mathematical tasks as grade level increased. (MNS)

Emic (culture-specific) and Western-type (imposed-etic) strategies were applied to the assessment of intelligence in 67 rural Filipino children. Imposed-etic tests measured a concept of intelligence that only partially overlaps emic conceptions, and were better predictors of school performance, which was not predicted by indigenous (emic)…

Three authors respond to the findings of a study by Griffiths and King, which was contracted by the Department of Education to identify the professional competencies that should be encompassed by library and information science programs, and the methods by which the competencies' relation to professional performance may be evaluated. (CLB)

Outlines a 3-year global education program used in a Michigan high school that was intended to alter multicultural/global fragmentation, dehumanization, and debilitating skepticism. Program components that are discussed include resources, curriculum, testing, activities, parent participation, projects, surveys, and student responses. Concludes…

A University of Maryland panel on drug abuse hopes its report on drug policies, enforcement, and education will become a prototype for other colleges and universities. It uses four approaches to combat substance abuse: education and counseling, discipline, drug testing, and law enforcement. (MSE)

Reviews procedures followed in developing a set of science items for Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Geology content areas and examines the items' construct validity in relation to a specific technique of evaluation. Analysis supported the items' construct validity and viability for testing certain science skills at the secondary level. (ML)

Students from three South African Universities, representing three ethnic groups, explain their perceived success or failure on a class test and rated the importance of casual attributions derived from previous studies. Important factors that emerged were as follow: (1) effort, (2) academic skills, (3) understanding. (Author/LHW)

Reports a study which investigated the use of rational cloze procedure in conjunction with retrospection or introspection assessment techniques to examine how individuals understand text in both first and second languages, especially the use of contextual constraints. (MSE)

Outlines a model for the promotion, retention, and placement of borderline students in elementary grades. Identification of the at-risk child at an early stage in the system is an important foundation for the success of this model, as is the development of a procedure for formally monitoring the progress of the student through regular followup.…

Two matched forms of a 50 item grammar test were developed. Twenty items designed to be humorous were included in one form. Inclusion of humorous items did not affect grammar scores on matched humorous/nonhumorous items, nor on commmon post-treatment items. Inclusion did not affect results of anxiety measures. (Author/DWH)