Recent experience with the Computerized Adaptive Test (CAT) has raised a number of concerns about its practical applications. The concerns are principally involved with the concept of having the computer construct the test from a precalibrated item pool, and substituting statistical characteristics for the test developer's skills. Problems with…

Designed to meet legislative requirements of the state of Nevada, the course of study for elementary school students presented in this guide establishes common goals for average students, which are to be adopted and followed by each school district. The course offers a foundation upon which local school districts can build curricula that are…

An ethnographic study of a writing class learning to use the computer as a writing tool indicated that learning word processing while learning how to write was a highly stressful experience for some students, and that a word processing course taught by writing teachers who attend to the special needs of writers should be available separate from…

This study of the effects of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) on the academic achievement of educationally disadvantaged students in grades 2 through 8 in four urban schools tested three hypotheses: (1) supplementary CAI programs are significantly more effective than non-CAI supplementary instruction approaches for disadvantaged students; (2)…

A project was undertaken to develop and begin implementation of a model developmental vocational guidance program for students in grades 6 through 8 at Hines Middle School in Newport News, Virginia. The computer-based Virginia VIEW Career Information Program was integrated into the model program in order to enhance students' career exploration,…

Using J. Dewey's "reconstruction of experience" concept of revision, a study employed ethnographic methods to investigate the effects of computer assisted writing instruction on students' revising processes. Primary subjects, eight sixth-graders, completed a structured revision task on their compositions, with varying degrees of computer…

Designed to examine the relevance of television news programming, a study examined the application of a "group use" videodisc in a communication curriculum. Using a computer controlled videodisc, 60 communication students at a large midwestern university were shown the agenda-setting function of television and asked to evaluate the…

The Performance Review, Analysis, and Improvement System for Educators (PRAISE) is a formative evaluation instrument designed to improve the performance of school principals. The system appears to be reliable and valid and is flexible enough to accommodate the needs of a variety of schools. Sample items and categories of the instrument include…

This article describes the placement testing program, the use of microcomputer software for scoring and analyzing test results, and the integration of the computerized test results into a comprehensive microcomputer-based student information system at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). UCI offers placement tests in five academic fields:…

Described is the Man in a Changing Society (MIS) project in which K-12 Swedish children use parish records to study and research local history. Church records in Sweden contain detailed information about individuals living during the 18th and 19th centuries. To make this information accessible to researchers, the Swedish church records are being…

The proceedings of the workshop on the interface between humans and machines in computer-assisted language learning (CALL) include the texts of four papers, descriptions of the software demonstrated, an information exchange section, a report of the plenary session, a comment on the workshop, a list of participants, a review of current research in…

Current issues in educational communications and technology are addressed in this collection of 47 papers, in which research reports dominate. Topics discussed include factors related to the learner, e.g., problem-solving skills, motivation, comparison of instructional design strategies, effects of organizational cues and text layouts, and…

This comparison of the effects of LOGO use with the use of teacher-directed problem-solving instruction, and with conventional mathematics instruction, focused on the problem-solving ability, basic skills achievement, and attitudes of junior high school learners. Students (N=97) in five seventh grade mathematics classes were systematically…

This study investigates the extent to which the higher order factors of symbolic and semantic content are differentiated. The main concern is an expository description of the use of confirmatory factor analysis in establishing factorial validity. Reanalyzed data originally collected in 1968 involved a sample of 197 tenth, eleventh and twelfth…

In 1983, the California Legislature authorized and funded 15 Teacher Education and Computer Centers (TECCs) to provide staff development services to teachers and administrators. Incorporating earlier staff development programs into a single statewide system, TECCs provide: (1) computer technology instruction, including classroom applications; (2)…