Discusses Howard Gardner's views regarding students' academic abilities. Describes the use of primary sources in history instruction. Includes a guide for analyzing primary sources for each level from kindergarten through eighth grade. (CFR)

Asks whether teachers understand why students participate in music education and activities. Discusses three types of motivation: (1) incentive motivation; (2) fear motivation; and (3) intrinsic, or growth motivation. Presents three charts listing criteria for student competency in wind instruments. (CFR)

Maintains that issues of student assessment and grading are of particular concern to music teachers. Discusses and describes performance-based and alternative assessment techniques. Recommends the use of portfolios to determine student grades. (CFR)

This follow-up study evaluated 2 programs for 40 preschool children with speech disorders: a home parent training program and a clinic-based, low parent involvement program. The home parent training group performed as well or better on measures of speech, language, personal/social skills, and adaptive behavior. Program costs were similar.…

This article explores the effect of augmentative and alternative communication systems on literacy acquisition by young children with severe speech and physical impairments. The possibility of a relationship between the type of graphic symbols used for communication as a preschooler and the child's early reading competency is considered. (DB)

A study of 42,407 college students' ratings of teachers in 5 departments and at 4 instructional levels (first-year through graduate study) revealed that perceptions of improvements needed in teaching skills varied significantly according to instructional level, class size, and discipline. Implications for college administration and instructional…

Responds to a college student's criticism of a professor's grading policies and teaching methods, considering political correctness and the meaning of grades. An underlying concern is the issue of the teacher's homosexuality. Argues that the student's letter is symptomatic of the college's attempt to suppress oppositional pedagogy. (SLD)

Washington State reform themes include movement from input- to output-based systems, student performance standards, and certification of mastery; shift from standardized testing to performance-based measurement; blurred distinctions between grades and schooling levels; greater local control in implementing teaching, learning, and assessment…

Describes a Dutch study of changes in teacher communication styles during their careers, combining findings from longitudinal and cross-sectional analyses of teachers' and students' perceptions of teacher interpersonal behavior. Survey results indicate the changes are found mainly in dominant behavior, whereas cooperative behavior remains…

The old era of educational assessment and reasons for its demise are described. The new era will be different and will present four challenges to the assessment community: (1) new assessment targets; (2) technical challenges of alternative assessments; (3) demystifying assessment and evaluation; and (4) reexamining assessment priorities. (SLD)

Using portfolios in assessing literacy is explored, considering student portfolios and the teacher's class portfolio. Portfolio assessment is a valuable complement to externally mandated tests, but technical issues must be addressed if the portfolio movement is to survive. Portfolios must be linked to the broader task of instructional improvement.…

Guidelines for developing performance assessments in science education allied with current research and reform are presented. The guidelines are applied to 3 hands-on science investigations performed by over 300 fifth and sixth graders and scored by science educators. Although difficult to develop, such assessments can be scored reliably. (SLD)

A study investigated the use of teaching portfolios and student evaluations in evaluating 97 college faculty members for contract renewal. Two faculty peers and a dean evaluated the portfolio of each teacher. Student evaluations correlated reasonably well with portfolio evaluations by the deans and one of the peers. (Author/MSE)

Describes experiments in Arabic information retrieval using 29 queries against a base of 355 bibliographic records. Using roots and stems as index terms worked better than words, and the root performed as well as or better than the stem at low recall levels and definitely better at high recall levels. (Contains 30 references.) (KRN)

Reports on a study of citation retrieval performance using three Internet-accessible databases and a database composed of six Wilson databases. Variables examined included citation frequency, percentage of unique periodicals cited per search, and relevancy of citations to stated search topic. The implications of the data for database selection are…