The United States is not doing as well as it could in assessing educational outcomes in the 1980s. The assessment movement of the 1980s indicates that its institutional memory is poor, and when coping with outside pressures, it is slow to recall how it coped the last time it was under pressure. It is important to remember such events and pressures…

The 1985 Buros-Nebraska Symposium was devoted to the broad issue of the influence of cognitive psychology on testing and measurement. The (1) "Introduction: The Implications of Cognitive Psychology for Testing" (Royce R. Ronning et. al.) lists four major issues addressed by the symposium--cognitive psychology as a basis for questioning some…

This investigation: (1) tested the ability of an a priori hierarchical structure of self-concept derived from the Shavelson model to explain responses to the Self Description Questionnaire III (SDQ III); and (2) demonstrated the application and problems with the use of hierarchical confirmatory factor analysis. A first-order factor analysis…

The essay defends the purposes, selection procedures, programs, and philosophy of the Duke University (North Carolina) Talent Identification Program (TIP), which offers systematic identification of and programming for verbally and mathematically precocious students. The Duke University effort was undertaken to fill a need unmet at federal and…

Factors pertinent to females in American science and mathematics-related disciplines are examined, focusing on explanations for the poorer representation of females, their lower rank, and their seemingly poorer productivity once within the professions. Using a multidisciplinary approach, some of the usual explanations for their poorer showing are…

This study investigated the influence of student and classroom characteristics on a sample of 17-year-old students' (N=1955) inquiry ability. The sample was obtained from a 1981/1982 national assessment in science carried out by the Minnesota Science Assessment and Research Project. Specific areas addressed included: (1) the effectiveness of the…

Each year thousands of students entering college participate in credit by examination programs in an effort to qualify for exemption and in many cases college credit for general education core requirements. The purpose of this study was to examine the differences between students who participate in a credit by examination program (in this case…

Problems in the use of pupil achievement measures for evaluating teachers, schools or systems are reviewed, with the conclusion that they are disabling. The following reasons are cited: (1) What the pupil brings to the classroom in terms of ability, previous knowledge, home and peer influence, motivation, and other influences is clearly very…

There is no conclusive evidence as yet that television has provided sufficient cause for the decline in scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test and other measures of academic achievement or aptitude, although it may be one of several elements in a complex causal system. The major studies show that television viewing, after the early school years,…

The purpose of this study was to examine the major determinants of the "staying" and "leaving" process for samples of Melbourne (Australia) male and female adolescents. Sixty attitudinal statements were obtained from 796 adolescents and factor analysed. The subset of independent variables, together with a set of personality and…

A study was conducted at the University of Maryland to determine if high ability sophomores differed from sophomores in general on their responses to the 1969 University Student Census (USC). The responses of 359 high ability sophomores, defined as those with Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores over 599 on both Verbal and Mathematics, were…

The relationship between parents' attitudes, and elementary school children's attitudes toward self and toward school were examined in two age groups: first graders who were studied through grade 3, and fourth graders who were studied through grade 6. Five tests were administered to the children: Attitude Toward School, Piers-Harris Children's…

A proficiency test became the exit requirement for the noncredit, basic English course at the University of New Orleans because the program was not working well. There were inconsistencies in grading, and students who managed to pass the course later foundered in the credit courses. Obviously, the teachers needed to cooperate to raise the goals of…

Using Glass's meta-analysis, of which "effect size" is the fundamental measure, 135 research studies on Ausubel's advance organizer theory were reviewed to determine its effect on learning and retention. Variables, such as grade level, subject area, organizer presentation mode, and ability level were also examined. In most of these…

Based on the work of 11 women and men from the Commission on Writing formed by the Council for Basic Education, this book concerns the necessity and rewards of learning to write. The book stresses teaching and learning writing in the English class, but it also views writing activities as parts of general education. Considering the unsatisfactory…