Describes a specific technique that involves initiative games to assess the level of group cooperation among children ages 11 to 13 in a school setting. Describes the development of initiative tasks used in the evaluation and the observation procedure used. (SB)

The indices of item difficulty and discrimination, the coefficients of effective length, and the average item information for both single- and multiple-answer items using six different scoring formulas were computed and compared. These formulas vary in terms of the assignment of partial credit and the correction for guessing. (Author/BW)

This is the fifth annual edition of the Brown Center Report on American Education. It analyzes the difficulty of items on the math portion of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), examines the content training of middle school math teachers, and evaluates the Blue Ribbon Schools Program. The NAEP assesses student performance…

This paper describes findings from two studies involving optional use of calculators on Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) mathematical items. The first study looked at the effects of calculator use on estimates of item difficulty. The second study looked at the effect of calculator use on equating results from an anchor test design. Study 1,…

The purpose of this study was to construct regression models that can identify sources of desired or undesired influences on student ratings. The approach uses course effectiveness findings developed with regression models to identify a possible solution to the two problems in using student ratings as a major component of course effectiveness: (1)…

A summary of some recent research on student evaluation of teaching is presented. Comment is made on the impact of the open admissions policy at City University of New York. The author theorizes that the more formal the use of student evaluations, the more rapidly will average grades drift upward and average level at which courses are taught drift…

Study investigated the effects of task difficulty on the paired-associate learning of retardates when extended elaboration conditions are employed. (Authors)

Presents a critical assessment of reading research quality through the discussion of background factors which have had major impact, and lists problems currently emphasized or neglected in research. Includes a pro-reaction and a con-reaction paper. Bibliography. (WB)

Three experimental tasks were devised to assess the nature of memory processing limitations in fourth-graders' oral reading comprehension. (Author/MP)

Interviews were conducted and tests were administered to determine if students found chemistry or physics easier. Reasons for their choices (including the fact that physics was perceived as relating to the life/world domain) and type knowledge used by the students are discussed. (JN)