In most elementary schools in the United States, students get their first systematic introduction to history as a discipline and to chronological treatment of U.S. history as subject matter in fifth-grade U.S. history courses. To develop information about the knowledge and misconceptions concerning U.S. history that fifth-grade teachers can expect…

Some methodological issues in the study of levels of knowledge are reviewed, and needs for further research are explored, drawing on an analysis of 12 studies reported since the late 1970s. In the 12 studies, 16 quantitative experiments were conducted. These were assessed for internal and external validity. Analysis revealed some shortcomings in…

In five experiments with over 2,500 subjects, we examined the hypothesis that cognitive processing variables measuring breadth of declarative knowledge and information processing speed were related to learning outcomes on a paired-associates task. Experiments 1 and 2 compared recall with recognition tests, Experiment 3 assessed the effect of…

The widespread use of standardized tests and the high stakes decisions made because of their scores are facts that cannot be ignored. It can be argued, therefore, that assessment literacy should be included in the training of teachers and administrators. To determine the extent of selected assessment knowledge among preservice and inservice…

Chapter 1 is a program funded by the Federal Government to help children who are at a disadvantage in school. Parents have many questions about Chapter 1 programs. This brochure presents many of the questions that parents have asked over the years about how Chapter 1 works. Because every school district's Chapter 1 programs are different, the…

Reflecting on a career spent in assessment in personnel selection and managment, the author lists 12 things (items) that he wishes he knew about assessment. The first four items are underdeveloped ideas set aside because of the field's preoccupation with equal employment opportunity. A second set (items five through eight) comes from intellectual…

An assessment of a psychology faculty enhancement program which provided up-to-date information on aging was done. In 1989/90 the program involved a 2-week institute for 25 teachers from two-year and four-year colleges, providing them with consultation both during and after the institute, and maintaining contact with them through reunions and…

To determine the degree of knowledge and use of computer technology by elementary education majors at Henderson State University (Arkansas), 226 students were surveyed. Results indicated that: (1) 52 percent of the traditional students (age 24 and under) and 58 percent of the nontraditional students (over 24) felt inadequate with regard to…

Individual and group assessments of quiz accuracy and students' discrimination of what they know and what they do not know regarding course material were examined using confidence ratings from 22 graduate students, 47 undergraduates, and their 23 heterogeneous learning groups over 6 quizzes. Students first took each multiple choice quiz as…

Although anabolic steroids are associated with short term behavior and long term health problems, few schools address this issue. Adolescents were surveyed to determine their general knowledge of anabolic steroids, attitudes related to fair play, and interest in limiting anabolic steroid use. Data from 322 boys and 331 girls in grades 7-12 were…

Teachers (n=61) who were participants in computer literacy workshops at Southern Illinois University were compared with a general sample of teachers in terms of their needs, attitudes, and motivation toward computer education. Nationwide data for comparison were taken from "Computers in the Classroom: A NEA Survey Report." The NEA sample of 1,700…

Hearings on The Soviet-Eastern European Research and Training Act of 1983 are presented. Objectives of the act are to help ensure the nation's independent factual knowledge of the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries, to help maintain the national capability for advanced research and training on which that knowledge depends, and to provide…

Communications between college admissions/records officers and the computer center can be enhanced by examining stereotypic ideas about computer personnel and operations, and increasing computer knowledge and the ability to communicate in this language. Barriers can be overcome either by interfacing with a computer-oriented assistant or through…

The content of essays written by randomly selected samples of 1500 U.S. and 500 British secondary students on the topic "What have I learned about Adolf Hitler?" were partitioned into theme-related assertions and analyzed. An experimental group of 150 9th- and 11th-grade male students who had studied the Holocaust also contributed papers…

Objectives and progress of the Student Impacts and Outcomes Committee created in the summer of 1985 at Eastern New Mexico University are reported. The committee was formed to measure and assess the impact that 4 years of college have on a student, and intends to track an entire entering freshman class from the time the students apply until they…