Discusses ways in which the logic of mandated systems of mass testing, as a means of ensuring the accountability of public schools, results in the loss of local responsibility for student learning, as well as an inevitable orientation of local schools to comply with system directives over personal, professional, and community values. (Contains 55…

Discusses several state and federal court cases testing the limits of school district efforts to expand the scope of random student drug-testing since the Supreme Court's 1995 decision in "Vernonia School District 47J v. Action," wherein the Court approved random drug-testing of student athletes in public high schools. (Contains 113…

This article discusses the use of performance task assessments by Project STAR for identifying students for academically gifted programs in grades 3-6. A field test of the performance assessment tasks resulted in finding an additional group of students who were 12 percent African American and 14 percent low-income children. (Contains references.)…

Investigates the relationship between metalinguistic awareness and second language (L2) proficiency of university-level learners of French. Learners' performances on two grammaticality judgment tests and on a test of L2 proficiency were examined in the context of demands made upon these two components according to whether the learners had been…

Describes the development and implementation of a web-based software engine that selects from a database of questions for students to answer and provides immediate feedback for students and instructor. Discusses the results of using this technology in an organic chemistry section. (Contains 22 references.) (WRM)

Discusses the changes that occurred in the English education system beginning with the Educational Reform Act of 1988 due to the policies of the Conservative government, such as market competition and the National Curriculum. Addresses the policies of the New Labour Party since the reign of the Conservatives has now ended. (CMK)

The predictive validity of active responding on a computer-based groupware system was examined with 48 second graders. Results showed that active responding correlated highly with initial and final performance measures and that active responding contributed significantly to predicting final performance when initial performance was controlled.…

The cost of achieving high quality at numerous levels of large-scale assessment has been astronomical--in dollars spent and opportunities lost. Educators have all but ignored assessments developed by classroom teachers. Students can become motivated by becoming involved in classroom-based assessment, record keeping, and communication. (Contains 11…

Explores the relationship between the strategies second language learners use to interpret unfamiliar words in a target language. English-speaking learners of Japanese completed a beliefs questionnaire and multiple choice Kanji compounds test. Examined how learner beliefs are related to the ability to combine information from word parts and…

Investigates the reliability and validity of the Bentley Measures of Musical Abilities (BMMA) for predicting musical achievement of students entering the Conservatory Alberto Ginastera (Argentina) by measuring the students improvement over the first four-month term. Encourages the use of the BMMA as a means to evaluating the entering students…

Describes experiences of two elementary math teachers, whose dynamic, hands-on teaching techniques were at odds with components of the Kentucky Instructional Results Information System (KIRIS). Despite these teachers' successful efforts, the new Commonwealth Accountability and Testing System (CATS) replacing KIRIS will not contain portfolios. (12…

A study investigated the percentage of optometry students successfully completing the four-component National Board of Examiners in Optometry examination at graduation between 1995 to 1997. Ultimate pass rates for all four components ranged from 87.0% to 90.9%. Results are discussed in relation to the 1993 test-sequence expansion and to the number…

Examines classroom Assessment in the English-as-an-additional-language (EAL) school context. Using data from teacher interviews, classroom observations, video and audio recordings of learners, and lesson transcripts, traces different stages in the teacher assessment process and presents a working model for analysis of teacher decision making in…

Explores theoretical and practical issues surrounding authenticity in course-based assessment, drawing on data from a university-level Japanese language course in Australia. Examines a teaching and assessment activity based around interviewing native speakers outside the classroom, which was designed to optimize authenticity. (Author/VWL)

Although increasing feedback specificity is generally beneficial for immediate performance, it can undermine certain aspects of the learning needed for later, more independent performance. The results of the present transfer experiment demonstrate that the effects of increasing feedback specificity on learning depended on what was to be learned,…