Discusses the tendency in second-language (L2) pedagogy to make fallacious comparisons between multicompetent L2 learners and monoglot speakers of the target language. The article describes the principal elements of multicompetence and presents a number of their implications for the construction of syllabi and examinations and the development of…

Explored three modes of performance-based assessment: portfolios, portfolio-based simulations, and simulation exercises. Fifteen high school biology teachers completed 11 assessment activities. The primary finding is that performance-based assessments can be designed and administered, teachers can complete them, the assessment can be rated, and…

Ohio's legislative interest in regulating college faculty workloads is seen as unnecessary by many institutions. Impetus for new regulations requiring more faculty time in the classroom comes from research on increased use of teaching assistants for undergraduate instruction. Some argue that early retirement and reductions in the number of…

Describes an at-home project whereby students collaborate with their parents in writing a book, and the resulting books are shared at year's end. Involves parents and students in signing performance contracts, developing reading and writing, and sharing skills. (ET)

Administered a laboratory process skills test to 147 year-5 students to assess their investigations, performance, and reasoning in biology, chemistry, and physics. Reports significant correlation between performance and amount of homework done and students' perceptions of several aspects of the classroom environment including personalization,…

Examines how centrality in world science is affected by performance and reputation. This study uses surveys of academic researchers and literature in engineering to ascertain the surging Japanese and the relatively declining American research performance. Findings show that reputation outweighs performance as the United States continues to…

Interviews with 22 employed and 18 unemployed individuals with deafness indicated that both environmental and personal characteristics influenced their success or failure in advancing on the job and in getting job accommodations. Implications for employers, employees who are deaf, and service providers are discussed. (Author/JDD)

Scores from the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale were compared to age and performance IQ for 72 children and adolescents with autism and 37 nonautistic controls with mental retardation. The relationship between the two groups' adaptive behavior profiles was stable from preschool age through adolescence. Increasing IQ was associated with lower…

A meta-analysis determined the importance of feedback in computer-based learning; 59 studies were collected and evaluated for inclusion in the meta-analysis in terms of design, sample size, and availability of appropriate statistics. Achievement outcomes were found to be greater for the feedback group than the control group. (AEF)

Interviews with 49 adults with learning disabilities who had attended college found that most respondents adjusted well to demands of college, approximately 90% of respondents graduated from college in 5.5 years, and students typically attended more than 1 college and pursued a variety of majors. Keys and barriers to success are examined, and…

Incarcerated adolescent males (n=62) with high and low depression scores were assigned to a positive or neutral affect induction condition. Following affect induction, subjects participated in tasks involving learning to read Hindi words. Results showed a main effect for self-induced positive affect on learning but no main effect for depression…

This study of 121 10th-grade students investigated the criterion-related validity of 2 potential curriculum-based measurements, reading from text and identifying vocabulary meaning, for predicting student performance on content-area study tasks. Correlational and multiple regression techniques found the vocabulary measure to be the stronger…

Describes a study investigating the working conditions of Albanian teachers and their influence on job satisfaction. Indicates that, although the economic and physical conditions were worse than in other countries, levels of job satisfaction and engagement in classroom practices were high. Suggests that work efficiency is predicted by social…

The Government Accounting Standards Board notion of service efforts and accomplishments reporting is one step in a process of managing for results that includes strategic planning, development and use of performance measures of managing ongoing programs, and outputs to budgetary appropriation. Reports a trial application to one school district.…

Reviews research on elementary school pupils' ratings of teacher effectiveness. Concludes adequate research exists to generalize that pupils can rate reliably, pupils may be no more vulnerable than others to rating leniency and halo, psychometric characteristics and factor structures of rating scales resemble those of college students,…