Learner diaries, or dialogue journals, are popular in second language teaching. Numerous teaching, learning, evaluative, and research-related uses for them have evolved. Pedagogically, they are used to identify and allay anxiety, offer advice on specific difficulties, provide study skill and individual feedback, encourage student self-assessment,…

A nationwide survey was conducted of humanities and liberal arts instructors in spring 1983 to obtain information on instructors' age, ethnicity, degrees held, teaching experience, professional activities, goals, full-/part-time status, institutional support, and emphasis on various classroom activities. A comparison of survey results with…

This study was designed to obtain descriptive data on the classroom evaluation practices of secondary teachers in two different public school systems. A self-report survey instrument was employed to collect data from 217 teachers in York, England, and 217 teachers in Minnesota. Respondents were asked to indicate which specific techniques they…

This guide suggests techniques for teaching skills in summary writing to students of English as a foreign language (EFL) in scientific and technical fields. Activities include: pre-summarization (identification of thesis sentences, conclusions and other essential components, multiple readings, notetaking and text-marking); summarization activities…

To find out what kinds of information parents regularly get from schools on the progress of their children, the Southwest Regional Laboratory surveyed a sample of public school districts in California, Arizona, and Nevada. Responses were received from 18 school districts ranging in size from fewer than 300 students to more than half a million. The…

The University of California's grading/credit policy for advanced placement (AP) courses taken by high school students is discussed. The university traditionally has encouraged high school students to take AP courses if they are prepared and mature enough to benefit from them. The university grants credit for scores of 3, 4, or 5 earned on AP…

The validity of grades in higher education as a measure of what a student has actually learned has been a concern to both the public and academicians for over three decades. This was one of several issues discussed in a report by the National Institute of Education Study Group on Conditions of Excellence in American Higher Education. Furthermore,…

Modern school research in Sweden has shown that the old selective school has been slowly transformed into an elective school, which in many ways resembles the old selective school with its parallel education systems. It is known that social background and a number of other variables (sex, nationality, type of class, etc.) have a crucial bearing on…

Designed for Pima Community College (Arizona) instructors, this booklet presents 50 sample writing assignments developed for 38 non-writing courses. Three types of assignments are represented: (1) short papers, which are usually one to five pages long, require few research skills, and allow students to use the instructor's feedback to produce…

A study examined the course structure and educational practices used by National Home Study Council (NHSC) member institutions. To gather data for the study, researchers mailed questionnaires to 60 members of the NHSC. Based on data from the 51 usable responses, the researchers determined that the average age of students enrolled in programs…

A study focused on teachers' developing knowledge about their work, particularly the thinking of eight elementary school teachers from a racially mixed San Francisco Bay Area school district about the use of literature contracts in the classroom. The study examined ways in which teachers' prior beliefs influence their use of a new teaching…

The current official policy of the California community colleges on grading prohibits the use of plus and minus symbols to modify a standard letter grade. Plus and minus grades may influence a student's grade point average (GPA) either through statistical effects or psychological effects on teachers and students. At its fall 1985 session, and…

This paper examines the case law that deals with the issuance of student grades, and reviews most of the reported cases dealing with the lowering of students' grades for non-academic misconduct and the use of grades to exclude students from school. School officials have been known to act arbitrarily when issuing grades to students. It is…

The supplementary information on "Alberta Essay Scales: Models" presented here includes similar models to employ in grading essays, the background and development of the scales, and the rationale for developing two scales of English mechanics and style/content. A standard is presented for evaluating current writing achievement by…

An overview of results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress in reading, science, and mathematics for American students during the 1970's -- ages 9, 13, and 17 -- is presented. Results are for three learning areas commonly accepted as critical to the maintenance of our increasingly technological society. Data on performance have…