A study of the validity of student ratings of college faculty focused on the relationship of student outcomes to faculty ratings. Subjects were students of 36 full-time instructors; outcome measures included subject matter knowledge, student self-ratings, and measures of short- and long-term motivation (interest in the subject matter). Results…

Children, ages 4 through 10, predicted exam performance of stimulus students using information about both motivation and ability as well as about either motivation or ability alone. Age did not emerge as the main determinant of response consistency. Children gave greater weight to positive than to negative motivation but equal weight to both…

Projects and investigations, which provide evidence of communication in mathematics, are discussed as a means to the direct assessment of the true objectives of the curriculum. Included are discussions of appropriate assessment, authentic assessment, and assessment of oral communication. (23 references) (Author/MKR)

Reports findings of studies investigating the influence of default values (i.e., excellent, good, or poor) on the evaluative behavior of students completing computerized instruments for rating instruction. Respondents who were exposed to the excellent default rated the instructor more favorably. Order and contiguity of items did not influence…

Discusses the role and consistency of judges' interpretations of teacher performance as part of an evaluative scheme for complex performance, with reference to the ideological framework of professional standards. The tension between assessment decisions and the recognition that assessment involves interpretation is explored. (SLD)

Explains how working on a student newspaper provides students with real-life writing situations that make composition practice, which students usually begrudge, automatic and necessary. Reviews four aspects of putting a newspaper together: brainstorming, researching, drafting, and publishing. (TB)

Discusses issues related to student employment in academic libraries. Topics include recruiting and hiring student workers, orientation and training, job descriptions and pay scales, supervision, evaluation, awards and recognition, and retaining student workers. (AEF)

The application of generalizability theory to the reliability and error variance estimation for performance assessment scores is discussed. Decision makers concerned with performance assessment need to realize the restrictions that limit generalizability such as limitations that lead to reductions in the number of tasks possible, rater quality,…

Issues of dimensionality, validity, reliability, and generalizability of students' ratings of instruction were studied with 610 college students who evaluated their instructors on the Teacher Effectiveness Scale. The Scale had high internal consistency, but interrater reliability, generalizability, and predictive validity warrant further study.…

Describes a laboratory activity "Observing Reactions in Solution." The activity can be used either as a laboratory or as a performance assessment for a high school chemistry class. (PR)

Discusses ways to reward and promote excellent teachers based on a survey of higher education promotion practices in the United Kingdom. Highlights include the need for promotion criteria; the need for standards; balancing different areas of achievement, including teaching, research, and administration; student feedback questionnaires;…

This study compared factors contributing to Quick Incidental Learning of new vocabulary by 50 5-year olds with specific language impairment (SLI) and 2 comparison groups. Although SLI children exhibited a robust representational mapping ability, performance was modulated by a minimum input constraint and apparent problems with storage into…

A study of 219 college students' ratings of teacher performance found that student raters' inferences about instruction are partly contaminated by their implicit theories of effective instructional behavior. Students inferred traits and behaviors and rated corresponding items even when instructor behavior was limited to a subset of performance…

This article argues that intellectual excitement and interpersonal rapport are important qualities that influence teaching effectiveness. It proposes a model of effective college teaching based on these qualities that utilizes a 39-item checklist evaluation form. The form was tested with students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill…

Explores the role of computer-assisted activities in functional language learning. Suggests that computers appear to be a valuable tool for facilitating language use within the classroom. When used appropriately, computers can provide a genuine, real-world context for children's explorations through their journey to becoming competent literacy…