This study looked at whether prior learning of a lecture topic enhanced performance on the lecture subtests of a content-based listening test. Data was analyzed from 11 lecture subtests from the Test of Listening for Academic Purposes. (JL)

Describes an information technology (IT) use survey of Post Graduate Certificate of Education students and staff from the University of Leeds (England). Assessments included students' initial and final IT confidence, IT activities and problems encountered, and the extent to which IT was used in teaching practice. (Author/AEF)

Describes a study of undergraduates that was designed to assess the independent and interactive effects of emotional arousal and emotional valence on viewers' cognitive capacity and memory for television messages. Highlights include emotional processing and memory, emotion and cognitive capacity, pretests and posttests, and hypotheses tested.…

Develops and tests hypotheses concerning the relationship of different media to psychological outcomes; postulates that print media are related to analytic cognition (reason) and electronic media to syncretic cognition (emotion). Two hundred forty magazine and television advertisements are analyzed in terms of attributes and reactions they invoke.…

Discusses faculty evaluation programs at 11 community colleges, focusing on procedures used, the frequency of evaluation, and areas evaluated. Indicates that although the 11 colleges used all of the main types of faculty evaluation procedures, substantive differences existed among the schools regarding frequency of use and instrument content. (MAB)

In a counterbalanced, within subjects, repeated measures design, 130 undergraduates were administered the Computer-Assisted Hypnosis Scale (CAHS) and the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale and were hypnotized. The CAHS was shown to be a psychometrically sound instrument for measuring hypnotic ability. (SLD)

Cost factors associated with the development, administration, and scoring of performance assessment tasks are examined in the context of a statewide or other large-scale assessment program. Resources of money, time, and expertise are discussed. (SLD)

Early childhood educators in public school settings are influenced by trends and practices in the field of early childhood and elementary education. The paper examines those trends, conflicts between current trends and realities, and the dilemma of early childhood educators in developing quality programs in elementary schools. (SM)

Differences between scores of Limited-English-Proficient (LEP) and non-LEP ninth grade students on the Hawaii State Test of Essential Competencies were studied. The LEP population scored significantly lower than the control group; results are discussed in terms of language training needs. (15 references) (Author/LB)

Describes promising assessment practices for enhancing the education of students at risk for school failure, viewing assessment as the practice of collecting qualitative and quantitative data that are helpful in planning instructional programs. Teaming is recommended to help improve assessment procedures. (SM)

Describes the cash award system Indiana developed to reward schools for relative improvement in language arts proficiency, mathematics proficiency, overall achievement performance, and attendance. The article looks at problems with the program, how the program was implemented, how money was used, and positive and negative rhetoric. (SM)

Describes a study that investigated the effects of flowcharts utilizing maplike symbols on performer efficiency in completing a complex procedural task. The effectiveness of instructional flowcharts is discussed; map learning is examined; and data on response times for three presentation formats (i.e., map, flowchart, and list) and four levels of…

Two criteria defined in previous research that can be used to evaluate the validity of normative data provided for customized tests are discussed. Results of an exploratory investigation of the validity of such data for about 2,500 fifth graders in a 1989 study are reported. (SLD)

This article highlights problems inherent in traditional screening measures for giftedness and suggests the student portfolio as a promising alternative for the identification of gifted children, especially those from special populations. Examples of items to be included in portfolios include writing samples, journals, artwork, projects, class…

Discussion of the use of simulations for licensure testing highlights the Dental Interactive Simulations Corporation (DISC) project that uses interactive video patient simulations for dental education and licensure. Topics addressed include reliability, validity, test administration issues, effects of fidelity on reliability and validity, and…