This digest offers principles of performance assessment as an alternative to norm-referenced tests. The definition of performance assessment developed by the U.S. Congress's Office of Technology and Assessment is given, common features are listed, and the terms "performance" and "authentic" are defined. Suggested guidelines for…

The purpose of this digest is to examine the meaning of the term "disposition" and to suggest the implications of dispositions for educational practice. A disposition is a tendency to exhibit frequently, consciously, and voluntarily a pattern of behavior that is directed to a broad goal. Dispositional considerations are important…

Fourteen papers from the 1992 meeting of the American Educational Research Association dealing with collaborative research were reviewed to see if they met the definition of action research. The relationship between the two forms of research is the subject of some controversy. It is argued that some collaborative research can be appropriately…

The use of learning strategies is universally encouraged, but there is a lack of specific and concrete examples. The CPC (Capacity, Pyramid, Chunking) Way of improving achievement is based on a specific learning/teaching strategy that can be used in all academic skills. It adjusts information acquisition to individual differences in learning…

This fact sheet on cerebral palsy is offered in both English and Spanish. First, it provides a definition and considers various causes (e.g., an insufficient amount of oxygen reaching the fetal or newborn brain). The fact sheet then offers incidence figures and explains characteristics of the three main types of cerebral palsy: spastic, athetoid,…

How the term urban and other terms related to it are defined can enhance the efficiency of research on urban education issues. A review of urban and related word uses reveals considerable variety in definitions. Since the aim of much research is to derive useful generalizations applicable to other similar groups, it is important to define the…

The conceptual development of schema theory, the way an individual organizes knowledge, is discussed, reviewing a range of perspectives regarding schema. Schema has been defined as the interfacing of incoming information with prior knowledge, clustered in networks. These networks comprise a superordinate concept and supporting information. The…

In response to widespread perceptions about school failure and student underachievement, this paper proposes that the culture of the nation's schools must be transformed to improve student motivation and achievement. The problem of schools is rooted in the core beliefs held by staff, students, and school leaders about the purposes, goals, and…

In 1993, under contract from the National Center for Education Statistics, the Educational Testing Service assessed the literacy proficiencies of a nationally representative sample of all adults, aged 16 and over, from nearly 27,000 homes. That assessment, the National Adult Literacy Survey, produced a profile of the English literacy skills of the…

Forced discipline refers to the specific procedures, routines, and standards required for carrying out course-related tasks. This paper discusses various facets of discipline, then looks at how 160 students in a basic speech-communication course respond to forced discipline. The paper next looks at how 30 basic-course directors define forced…

A review of research on the effects of whole language suggests that no one approach to teaching reading is distinctly better in all situations and respects than other methods. The whole language approach has been described as a "top-down" theory of reading which emphasizes the importance of teaching language as a whole entity as…

A visually literate person's lexicon for interpreting visual statements, without regard to medium, could include an eclectic array of possibilities. Some definitions and demonstrations of the various approaches are presented. The premodern, or connoisseur's approach, is characterized by a central concern with the assessment of quality, and such…

This paper discusses the sense relation of synonymy, taking the view that this phenomenon should be understood as a gradual concept, a cline along which there are different degrees of synonymy. This view is consistent with the widely held opinion among semanticists that strict or absolute synonymy is rare in human language. A further step is taken…

This paper argues that one important reflection of a culture's status is the existence of general reference books on it. To this end, it discusses the forthcoming "Dictionary of Smoky Mountain English," a book designed to address the lack of a comprehensive reference work on Appalachian speech and language patterns in this region. The…

This report begins with discussion of several issues in the field of quality assurance in residential services for individuals with developmental disabilities. The issues include definitions of key terms, the role of ideology, major types of quality assurance, and dimensions of quality assurance. The report takes the position that primary values…