The problems facing modern languages in comprehensive schools in Great Britain are discussed. Questions raised by the situations are: why do fewer pupils in the fourth form and even fewer sixth formers study a language? Why do even fewer choose to continue with their language studies when they progress into higher education? Phases in school…

TO ENCOURAGE POLITICAL SCIENCE STUDENTS TO READ PROPERLY AND CONTINUOUSLY, THE AUTHOR GIVES FREQUENT SHORT QUIZZES BASED ON THE ASSIGNED READINGS. FOR EASE IN ADMINISTRATION AND SCORING, HE USES MARK-SENSE CARDS, ON WHICH THE STUDENT MARKS DESIGNATED AREAS TO INDICATE HIS NUMBER AND HIS CHOICE OF ANSWERS. TO EMPHASIZE THE VALUE OF CONTINUED HIGH…

THIS PROJECT WAS CONDUCTED TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT UPON DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN OF A HEAD START PROGRAM AND THE AFTER-EFFECT OF THAT PROGRAM ON THE SUBJECTS' SUBSEQUENT PERFORMANCE IN KINDERGARTEN AND FIRST GRADE. MEASURES OF APTITUDE AND ACHIEVEMENT WERE TAKEN DURING THE FIRST TWO WEEKS AND LAST TWO WEEKS OF THE EIGHT WEEK HEAD START PROGRAM,…

THE PURPOSE OF TESTING IN SEASONAL AND MIGRANT FARMERS' EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS IS NOT FOR MEASUREMENT BUT FOR DIAGNOSIS OF THE DEGREE AND INTENSITY OF HELP NEEDED. TESTS SHOULD BE ADMINISTERED BY THE TEACHER TWO OR THREE WEEKS AFTER CLASS BEGINS WHEN POSSIBLE. THEY SHOULD BE SCORED CAREFULLY, AND THE RESULTS ANALYZED AND INTERPRETED. THE AUTHOR…

Part of the plan by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) to prepare training materials and conduct conferences on improving teachers' use of standardized tests was to survey a representative sample of elementary/secondary teachers. This survey ascertains teacher preparation and knowledge in testing, teacher assessment of the importance of…

Members (elementary and secondary teachers) of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) were surveyed in preparation for a series of workshops to improve teachers' use and understanding of tests. Results showed generally positive attitudes towards tests, and a specific interest in using tests for diagnostic and prescriptive planning purposes.…

Basic test terminology is explained for parents of school children. Terms which are defined include aptitude, achievement, criterion referenced tests, norm referenced tests, and intelligence quotient. Brief discussions of the advantages and limitations of tests are included. Testing is seen as providing valuable information to the school, students…

The guidance program at Harcum Junior College, a two-year, private, independent college for women, is incorporated into its educational programming. The measurement and interpretation of student placement test information is an essential component of the guidance function, as it assists students in making decisions and examining their progress in…

Test anxiety is a common problem manifested by many college students. The Testing and Psychological Services Center at Northern Kentucky University sees a number of such students each semester. The possible causes of test anxiety are frequently the illogical or unrealistic demands that some students place on themselves. The methods of treatment…

Twenty-six papers concerning Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title I program evaluation--presented at the 1978 American Educational Research Association/National Council on Measurement in Education meeting--are summarized. Speakers from the federal government are: C.T. Cross (see ED 156 695); R.L. Fishbein; and D. Ozenne. State department…

Part of a series which offers educational resources and teaching techniques related to major social issues to high school social studies teachers, the booklet describes and reproduces a test measuring students' economic literacy. Part I is the test manual, which explains the objectives, value, development, and two-form structure of the test. It…

Arguments are set forth to encourage continued use of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) as supplementary information rather than as an exclusive criterion for selecting graduate candidates in English. The author predicts that the GRE will be increasingly used and will increasingly come to define and control undergraduate and graduate…

Some basic maxims of the field of diagnostic/prescriptive testing for academically deficient college students are as follows: the end purpose of diagnostic testing must be, not to screen out prospective students, but to match the available resources of the campus to the strengths and weaknesses of the student; testing is the essential tool in…

A study was undertaken to examine and strengthen the examination system at Hampshire College. During the study the college was in its third and fourth years of operation. The system, known as progress by examination, is comprised of six diagnostic and evaluative meetings between students and their faculty to determine their eventual satisfactory…

The report describes an elementary grade level career awareness program which was organized around four open-spaced non-graded learning centers: a kindergarten and three other learning centers in which students stayed for two-year periods to explore the 15 career clusters identified by the U.S. Office of Education. Each learning center used a…