The seven articles of this issue examine the implications of the proposed use of a variety of new assessments for students and parents, schools and school personnel, the educational system, and society in general. They clarify the dilemmas that challenge educational assessment and the relationship of assessment to educational reform. (SLD)

Describes the emerging position of electronic services librarian. Explains how the position was created to meet the demands of OPACs (online public access catalogs), computers and CD-ROMs, the Internet, and multimedia applications in academic libraries. Topics include the gap between user services librarians and technical specialists, hiring…

Discusses the current environment in which health information is disseminated. Topics addressed include health information versus patient education; a model for examining delivery of consumer health information; the role of library professional associations; national libraries; public libraries; hospital libraries; academic health sciences…

Considers librarians' preparation for research university libraries. Topics discussed include the library's role in the research university, including advances in information technology and a knowledge management environment; user-centered librarians; scholarly communication; the concept of a learning society; and the need for a more diverse…

Maintains that the need for gathering sensitive information frequently arises in planning and implementing organizational surveys. Describes methods of designing the instrument format and the mode of data collection. Provides a description and process summary of the Randomized Response Technique (RRT). (CFR)

Asserts that, if current demographic trends continue, 25% of Canada's population will be 65-years old or older by the year 2031. Discusses the impact of these trends on public spending, health care, and other public policies. Concludes that sound planning and judicious use of resources can help prevent any compromises. (CFR)

Asserts that students' opportunities to learn subjects can be organized into sequences that span grades and schools. Examines national patterns in opportunities for learning mathematics and science from grade 8 to grade 10. Finds that the level of mathematics in grade 8 is closely related to that taken in high school, but this is not true of…

In 1990, Congress charged OERI with evaluating the nation's school-reform efforts. Representative planners subsequently called for research proposals in systemic reform, school-based management, uses of time, student assessment, curriculum reform, educator professionalism, school-to-work transition, early childhood education, parent and community…

Describes services offered by the University of Western Australia's Scholars' Centre to academic staff and postgraduate students in the arts and social sciences. Highlights include study facilities; collection development; interlibrary loan and document delivery services; access to electronic resources, including CD-ROMs and the Internet; Internet…

Results are reported for a three-year research and development project concerning the knowledge and skills that middle school teachers need to educate students with emotional and behavioral disorders in inclusive settings. Self-assessments of 26 teachers were analyzed in relation to ratings of behaviors of 73 students. Teachers reported only…

Examines the challenges of providing educational leadership in rapidly changing rural school settings. Describes a leadership development model that stresses learning in action, examines the role and responsibilities of school boards related to educational leadership, and suggests that the Individual Education Plan process can be a model for…

Describes a survey of teachers enrolling in postgraduate courses in Great Britain that was conducted to determine prior information technology experience and what the students perceived as information technology training needs. Highlights include differences between primary and secondary teachers, gender issues, age, and computer ownership. (16…

Reports a study of North Carolina elementary and middle school teachers' perceptions of their roles and responsibilities in assisting children of alcoholics (COAs), their need for additional training, and their perceptions of school-based assistance for COAs. Survey results indicated teachers were willing to help but desired training. (SM)

Reviews evidence about health care resources currently available to children and pregnant women in the United States. Evidence suggests that the maldistribution of resources remains a serious threat to health care access for women and children at greatest risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes and child morbidity and mortality. (SLD)

Examines changes in children's health insurance status and utilization of health services in the past decade, using 1977 National Medical Care Expenditure Survey data and 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey data. Policies that could reduce the number of uninsured children (mandated employment-related coverage and incremental Medicaid…