Whether specification of focal group membership based on ethnicity as well as educational opportunity affects differential item functioning (DIF) of test items was studied. Subjects were 4,342 freshmen admitted to a large midwestern university who completed the 40-item Advanced Mathematics Placement Examination in the spring of 1991. There were…

A partnership between the New York City Central Labor Council and the Center for Advanced Study in Education, City University of New York, New York, planned, conducted, and evaluated a worker literacy program for health care paraprofessionals who prepared for college as a step towards career advancement. The program featured close involvement of…

This report gives the results of the Primary Assessment Program (PAP) in Aboriginal schools (Australia) for the 1987 school year. The purpose of PAP is to provide instructional feedback on student achievement in reading and mathematics and to provide indicators of performance for public reporting. All Aboriginal schools which had students in grade…

This paper examines how selected characteristics of a program and attributes of key actors affected a particular collaborative effort to increase the supply of secondary math and science teachers. A funded grant created the need for collaborative linkage between schools and a university which had no prior experience with joint efforts. Elements of…

Across the field of educational assessment the case has been made for alternatives to the multiple-choice item type. Most of the alternative types of items require a subjective evaluation by a rater. The reliability of this subjective rating is a key component of these types of alternative items. In this paper, measures of reliability are…

This paper contrasts three distinct theoretical positions about the importance of empowerment for instruction and achievement. The "teacher professionalism" view maintains that empowerment enhances instruction and learning, the "bureaucratic centralization" approach argues that empowerment impedes effective teaching and…

This curriculum guide integrates the concepts of chick embryology into mathematics, science, and language arts lesson plans for Grades 4 and 5. The four lessons comprising the unit can be utilized in sequence or as independent lessons within the classroom curriculum. Lesson 1 enables students to identify the parts of an egg. Lesson 2 examines the…

Past research on the effects of Minimum Competency Tests (MCT) on teaching and learning is reviewed, and the large database of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is used to shed more light on these effects. There seems to be little doubt that MCT, together with associated changes in instructional methods, has produced some…

In 1993 the Western Illinois University and Illinois State Board of Education Satellite Education Network broadcast a series of 10 half-hour instructional programs focused on mathematics inservice training for Illinois school teachers in grades 5-8 and 9-12. Project funding came from the Eisenhower Mathematics and Science Education Program through…

The materials provided in this package include a 24-minute video and a professional development guide. The video portrays several different approaches to teaching mathematics in ways that are consistent with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Standards. The methods employed differ from conventional mathematics teaching in…

The 118 tests cited in this bibliography consist of items related to instructional objectives. Assessment of gains is made in terms of mastery of objectives rather than in comparison with group norms. Some of the entries are item banks geared to objectives from which the test administrator selects appropriate items for evaluating the test takers.…

This guide is designed to assist teachers conducting a foundation course to prepare students for additional courses of training for entry-level employment in either the residential or commercial and industrial wiring trades. Included in the guide are 17 instructional units and the following sections of information for teachers: guidelines in using…

This practicum was designed to change parents' attitudes toward their children's learning, so that parents would understand the importance of student-centered and student-directed learning activities and have a better understanding of their children's actual learning activities. An initial telephone survey of four parents of students in a combined…

This study documented elementary teachers' reported practices in mathematics, science, social studies, literature, art, and music. The study also identified the extent to which teachers espoused instructional goals and practices associated with teaching for understanding compared with basic skills approaches. Respondents were 678 elementary school…

A series of case studies were undertaken by UNESCO to probe more deeply into the adequacy of science, mathematics, and technology curricula to meet national needs, and their appropriateness in relation to the rapidly-evolving nature of science and technology themselves. This fifth study, from Pakistan, has focused on the following 4 major areas:…