This collection of 12 articles, prepared by the editors of the weekly newsletter "Education USA," attempts to highlight significant new developments that have surfaced as major education issues. The aim of the collection is to provide "an authoritative, up-to-date report on what's new in education in one book." The articles…

The efficiency of three written papers dealing with essay writing, comprehension, and literature papers as a test of English ability was assessed in a trial examination administered to 182 boys and 216 girls, all of whom were 16 years of age. Criterion was established on the basis of teachers' assessments of six essays written by the students…

The essence of interpersonal communication in negotiation is the achievement of consensus. This paper discusses the many variables which affect negotiation situations, in small groups or in large institutions like the university. Specifically, will proper orientation in the bargaining process increase the chances of reaching consensus? What…

Discussion of programs for analyzing the writing of students using word processors focuses on six categories of available software that can help to improve students' writing skills: error checkers, reformatters, audience awareness programs (including reader's needs and readability formulas), student conferencing utilities, grading utilities, and…

Law schools should require excellence of all students, and mastery learning is a technique useful for structuring entire curricula or course segments to achieve high standards. A Rutgers course in contracts, torts, and legal research and writing developed to apply mastery learning strategies has proven successful. (MSE)

Thomas R. Guskey and Robert J. Marzano bring together leaders in the field of educational assessment to offer a multi-book series with the most up to date standards available. Comprehensive yet accessible. Research-based yet practical. This concise series addresses essential assessment concepts with solutions for today's educational challenges.…

This 2001-02 report from Santa Fe Community College (SFCC), Florida, rates student perceptions and opinions of SFCCs classrooms, courses, instructors, academic resources, student services, overall college atmosphere, and cultural atmosphere. Results of the research include the following: (1) of the 2,499 students who responded, 2,229 (89.2%) rated…

This book remaps theories and practices for teaching creative writing at university and college level. This collection critiques well-established approaches for teaching creative writing in all genres and builds a comprehensive and adaptable pedagogy based on issues of authority, power, and identity. A long-needed reflection, this book shapes…

The most popular methods for setting passing scores and other standards on educational tests rely heavily on subjective judgment. This paper presents and evaluates a new procedure for setting and evaluating standards on tests based on cluster analysis of test data. The clustering procedure was applied to a statewide mathematics proficiency test…

This book is designed to provide prospective and practicing teachers with: (1) a concise presentation of assessment principles that clearly and specifically relate to instruction, (2) current research in the field, and (3) practical and realistic examples of assessment and suggestions for assessment built into the instructional process. The book…

To assign grades that accurately communicate student performance, conscientious teachers must ensure their grading is consistent with that of other teachers, reveals student progress, and remains sensitive to impacts on student motivation and parent reaction. Teachers, parents, and administrators of the Round Rock Independent School District in…

This digest examines issues related to the grading of students' classroom writing, including the relation of the writing process to the grading process, ways to construct effective writing assignments, fairness and professional judgment, ways to include students in the assessment of writing, and guidelines that professors can use to provide…

In order that we may know where we stand in secondary education, the membership of the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools four years ago took the lead in urging a study. It seemed to them that it was wise for such a study to be made by the Government of the United States rather than by a private foundation; for if such an…

Illustrates applicability of scientific scrutiny to secondary education by demonstrating how to relate to "natural" language instruction to student attainments, how variations in grading practices affect student performance, how knowledge gained in recitation is related to that gained in silent study, how to determine whether education…

A University of Washington study that found professors who are easy graders receive better evaluations than those who are tougher, and another study showing faculty enthusiasm alone raises student evaluations, have shaken a long-standing consensus among researchers that student evaluations are a good measure of a teacher's skills. Most…