Discusses the British N and F system of university entrance examinations, especially in science. (MLH)

This position paper is written to outline recommendations for a quality science curriculum for schools. Among the recommendations made are that the science curriculum needs to stress excellence; that inquiry approaches are important in helping students to become curious learners who identify problems; that observing natural phenomena in the…

How early is too early? As testing has grown more widespread in recent decades, important issues have arisen concerning how to ensure that early childhood testing is used appropriately and with positive educational benefits. Actually, this kind of testing has been happening for a long time. Testing young children became a frequent practice when…

The present paper discusses criticisms of statistical significance testing from both historical and contemporary perspectives. Statistical significance testing is greatly influenced by sample size and often results in meaningless information being over-reported. Variance-accounted-for-effect sizes are presented as an alternative to statistical…

Describing the types and uses of tests may seem to be an easy task, but it is not as straightforward as it may first appear. Tests vary on many different characteristics, are used in many different ways, cross the typical assessment categories, and in some cases are so unique as to from a category unto themselves. This chapter explores many…

One role of counselors and educators is to use assessment in the service of students and clients. Under the right conditions and with proper use, using technology to foster assessment is a great way to go. This chapter focuses on the use of technology as a tool for testing and assessment. It emphasizes that to make proper use of technology tools,…

Psychologist Andrea diSessa coined the term "phenomenological primitives", or p-prims, to talk about nonexperts' reasoning about physical situations. P-prims are primitive in the sense that they stand without significant explanatory substructure or explanation. Examples are "Heavy objects fall faster than light objects" and "Continuing force is…

According to this study using both physiological and word recognition error criteria to ascertain students' reading frustration level, repetitions should be counted as errors to obtain authentic reading level scores on informal reading inventories. (TO)

Results are in general agreement with previous research indicating that self-monitoring can have a dramatic effect on certain behaviors. In the present study, those Ss who recorded their own frequencies of accurate responding maintained their review efforts significantly longer than Ss who did not self-monitor. (Author)

The Petriel Reading Comprehension Test was administered to four sixth grades. Two of the classes were not allowed to turn back after reading passages, and the test was monitored during administration. The other two classes were allowed to re-read while answering questions. Results indicate that it makes little difference whether students are…

Achievement on the final exam was the dependent variable in an experiment involving two college algebra classes. The experimental class was allowed retesting on unit tests while a control class took the unit test once. No significant differences were obtained. (JP)

Determines the relative effectiveness of simple trust, a punishment threat, and a moral appeal in achieving classroom honesty. (Author)

Presents a summary of the lectures and seminars at a conference on examinations and assessment organized by Chelsea College and the National Foundation for Educational Research. Lecture topics included examining at 16+, development towards a Certificate of Extended Education examing at 18+, and examinations in relation to the curriculum. (JR)