The National Assessment of Educational Progress, a federally funded testing group, found that 17-year-olds today know less about science than high school students in 1969-70 and 1972-73, when previous assessments were conducted. Here is a closer look at that assessment. (Author/RK) Aspect of National Assessment (NAEP) dealt with in this document:…

This report discusses the main issues and problems identified at the Fifth Biennial Conference on Chemical Education. Main topics included surviving the drop in university enrollments, preparing chemists for changing job markets, improving scientific literacy, and obtaining more support money. (MA)

Outlines Hawaii's plan for reading improvement that concentrates its efforts in four interrelated areas: instructional programs, inservice training, curriculum management and parent involvement. (Editor/RK)

Cross-program evaluation, the comparison of different types of educational programs, is discussed. The advantages and disadvantages of this type of evaluation are outlined, with respect to decision making and legislation regarding funding of programs. (GDC)

Describes the scope of experiences for which people are seeking credit at the post secondary level and suggest some techniques for dealing with them noting that when this experiential learning is school-controlled it is sticky--but becomes more complicated when petitioners submit personal experiences from the past. (HD)

Studied multiple assessors and predictors of single criterion and combination criterion for disadvantaged and regular freshmen (maximum N=143). Computed were analyses of variance and multiple correlations and regressions. Results are discussed. (Author)

Successful teaching of physics on the secondary level requires continual emphasis on the relationship of experimental data to the development of abstract models, sensible grouping of instructional content in textbooks, sufficient teaching time for reinforcement and review, and relevant examination questions. (AV)

Provides a sample of ERIC documents representative of those in the system focusing on the evaluation of communication instruction programs. (MH)

A model to evaluate programs that stress career and values education has been developed by Project COVE of St. Louis University. Its desired outcomes and characteristics are presented along with its processes. (Author/LBH)

Although American schools are not as good as they might be, most indicators suggest that they are better now than in the past, that they are better than schools in other nations, and that they are generally successful in meeting the commonly accepted goals of education. (JG)

There is little agreement between industry and educators concerning the roles to be played by engineering or engineering technology programs and by their respective graduates. This study found that industry accepts Bachelor of engineering technology programs as alternatives to technical careers and to the title "engineer" while educators do not.…

A distinction is made between the terms basic skills and minimum competence. The impact of minimum competency requirements is discussed through its affect on the scope and structure of current mathematics curricula, and the assessment instruments needed for valid measures of mathematical competence. (JT)

Pragmatic questions and critical issues related to tests of minimal competence in mathematics are raised. (JT)

The substantive issues discussed in the article reviewed concern the relationships among teachers' philosophy of education, their perspectives on education, their practice in the classroom setting, and the social construction of pupil identities. (JD)

Discusses the need for developing job competency tests which measure cognitive and personal traits, as well as specific skills and knowledge. Emphasizes that the use of rigorously validated measures of intellectual and personal traits facilitates the evaluation of post-secondary education's effectiveness in the post-academic world. (Author/GC)