Discusses the Mabar experiment underway at WIZO High School in Rehovot, Israel. The experiment aims to make Bagrut exams accessible to students thought incapable or uninterested in taking the exam. (CK)

A study investigated 292 British university students' attitudes about continuous assessment (formative evaluation) and examinations (summative evaluation). In many respects, students felt continuous assessment to be fairer and to measure a greater range of abilities. Responses varied by age and gender. Overall, students felt continuous assessment…

Tests cognitive assessment of 180 students enrolled in a cornerstone course in communication theory. Finds that a profile of factors that influence cognitive assessment scores can be developed. Demonstrates how assessment may be used to empower both faculty and students by offering pedagogical and administrative strategies that enhance student…

Compared the effectiveness of three different learning strategies on Korean English-as-a-Foreign-Language learners' vocabulary comprehension: context, semantic mapping, and word lists. University students were randomly assigned to one of three treatments of vocabulary instruction and examined on various levels of vocabulary knowledge using three…

Discusses the role of music education as an intervention for at-risk urban students. Explains that the students received mentoring and participated in performance groups. Measures student perceptions and gathered data on student attitudes through structured interviews. Reports that music and music teachers are important in student lives. (CMK)

FACETS many-facet Rasch analysis software was utilized to look at two consecutive administrations of a large-scale second language oral assessment in the form of a peer group discussion task with Japanese English-major university students. Results are discussed. (Author/VWL)

Maintains that preschool teachers can encourage meaningful dialogue and enhance learning among young children by asking appropriate questions, using fewer "known-answer" and testing questions, being sensitive to cultural differences, and creating an environment in which the educational goal is conversational equality between teachers and…

To streamline the process of collecting spontaneous language samples, a modified format of the "Multilevel Informal Language Inventory" was administered to 150 public school children, aged four-six. Administration, scoring, and analysis required approximately 35 minutes per child. Scores obtained were used to compute normative data on a…

Explores the few studies that compare the psycholinguistic processes characterizing second language acquisition in the classroom and native-speaking environments. A description of a study that found that, although intermediate Spanish students extensively monitored language usage in both environments, their monitored knowledge was still quite…

Describes a take-home exam story problem based on stoichiometry. Requires the student to determine the percentage of phosphoric acid in a large container of nitric acid if a man fell into it. Provides assumptions, clues, and an acceptable solution. (MVL)

Howard Gardner's view of education for the gifted in 2000 includes individual-centered schools, "intelligence-fair" testing, and mentorships and internships in the community that match students with learning opportunities, allowing them to explore career opportunities and avocations for life enrichment. (MSE)

Discussed are trends in performance across the last three National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics assessments for students in grades 7 and 11, and reports on indicators of instructional activity. The results suggest that achievement in mathematics has taken a modest upturn in the 1980s. (MNS)

Computer-assisted studies (CAS) attract foreign language professionals' attention due to the reliability of personal computers, the decreasing cost of available technology, and the new generation of students for whom electronic media are a familiar habitat. This article focuses on a project of the Defense Language Institute that produced over…

A conceptualization of test theory is discussed that addresses issues of weight and coverage of evidence for statements framed in recent educational/psychological paradigms. Implications for language assessment built around the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages' guidelines are considered. (26 references) (Author/CK)

This study compared the exam performance of 65 foreign students of Dutch whose homework had been regularly checked by a computer program with 62 students whose homework had been randomly checked. On a 100-item proficiency test the former group obtained an average score of 77.2, while the latter group obtained an average score of 65.4. (Contains 21…