Argues that strategies to improve inner-school black student's test scores often include disguised affirmative action components and suggests that such strategies are not likely to close the racial gap in school performance. Provides an examination of affirmative action's argument against testing and tracking and discusses policy implications. (GR)

The relationship between performance on tests of minimum competency (MCT) required for high school graduation and dropout behavior was studied with 76,664 Florida students. Results indicate that MCT failure increases the likelihood of leaving school only for students doing well academically, but not for minority students or those doing poorly.…

Investigates the relative influences of medium and context variables by comparing seven- and eight-year-old children's spoken and written explanations in varying contexts: a story task, a question task, a sentence completion task, and a whole sentence production task. Findings reveal the significant influence of context as compared to medium on…

These exercises and examples pertain to readability information presented in preceding articles. They are designed to help speech language pathologists test their intuitions about word and text difficulty and to see readability data from a number of quantitative formulas applied to passages across a wide range of levels. (Contains 8 references.)…

Discusses the design of oral assessment measures to test the language proficiency of incoming Hispanic students into community colleges. The article emphasizes that focusing on oral skills has helped nontraditional English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students realize that they can master English. (nine references) (Author/CK)

This study examined effects of frequent quizzes on dental student performance in a course on introductory radiology. Results indicated the group (N=36) with frequent quizzes performed significantly better than the control group (n=35) on midterm and final examinations (but not post-tests), and assessed course content and instructor more…

Reports a series of ethnographic studies of student behavior concerning examinations, conducted in a Canadian university since the mid-1980s. Describes techniques of data gathering and the link between methodology and theory. Examines implications for higher education, including dealing with students' exam-related stress, factors influencing…

Compares the empirical performance of C-tests with other representatives of the family of reduced redundancy tests--classical cloze, cloze-elide, multiple-choice cloze--using the Duisburg English Language Test for Advanced Students as the criterion for empirical validity. Findings reveal that the C-Test emerges as the most economical and reliable…

The effects of performance assessment on student learning were studied in third grades in three suburban schools and matched control schools. Performance measures did not produce clear and immediate improvements in student learning, but some positive changes were seen in mathematics. (SLD)

Reports on an exploration of gender bias in the multiple-choice portions of six Canadian social studies examinations. Considers the lack of women's experiences reflected in the questions, formal content, and epistemological stance. Concludes that gender biases do exist in the questions and may have contributed to differences in achievement. (MJP)

Reviews the results of a meta-analysis that evaluated 208 variables derived from 98 studies incorporating music as a contingency for education and therapeutic objectives. Demonstrates that contingent music was more effective than was continuous music and nonmusic stimuli used in these studies. Includes a list of the studies analyzed. (MJP)

Thirty-five staff members' views on developmental assessment in a multicultural early childhood setting are described and used to initiate a critique of current practice in assessment of young children. Staff expressed a range of opinions from endorsement to frank rejection of the utility, validity, and ethics of developmental assessment.…

This discussion provides an overview of the kinds of technological resources available to support language learning and of various approaches to using them, and explores some issues surrounding the trend. Topics considered include efficacy, availability, computer-mediated technologies, software acquisition and content, material evaluation,…

A comparison was made of ability and achievement test results and school grades for 323 pairs of Swedish male and female twins and 740 controls in relation to social background. An interaction effect of sex and social background was found for verbal ability and mathematics test results. (SLD)

The Corsicana (Texas) high school assistant principal recounts how 34 consistently failing math and reading senior underachievers successfully passed the Texas statewide tests after they were taught all coursework through their preferred learning styles in a supportive environment. (Author/DB)