Presented are four research articles and staff development activities. Included are: an activity used to stimulate discussion of the issue of balanced science; a constructivist approach to teaching electric circuits; a science grading scheme; and a discussion of priorities in science education. (CW)

Discusses the problems associated with the assessment of art and design. Identifies criterion-referenced assessment practices within the British General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) program as central to the development of a system of examination which is more fair to participants. (KO)

Presents a dynamic reading assessment procedure (DAP). Argues that the procedure is particularly valuable for use with at-risk learners because both cognitive and affective variables are assessed. Notes that the readers' strategy use and knowledge, as well as their adaptability and attitude toward reading instruction, can be determined. (RS)

Comments on the selective nature of the Thatcher government's interest in and enthusiasm for features of the West German education system. Compares Great Britain's and West Germany's systems with regard to student assessment, compulsory curriculum, school-leaving qualifications, vocational education, and centralization of authority. Contains 32…

Reviews studies of singing which used elementary-aged subjects over the past 25 years. Summarizes studies done on the singing inaccuracies of children, and reviews studies on the processes required for accurate singing. Presents studies on factors affecting children's singing and examines the implications of this research for singing education.…

Discusses assessment as an integral part of teaching. Describes informal assessment and instructional decision making. Discusses the scope and methods of assessment. Provides examples of assessment related to the standards. (YP)

Discusses the diminished influence of research on educational policy, and explores how science is confronting educational policy issues in relation to adult education. Analyzes the key concepts of vocational educational policy; namely, the function of further education, vocational education, and general and political education. Concludes with a…

The effects of certain characteristics (e.g., sample design) of National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data on statistical analysis techniques are considered. Ignoring special features of NAEP data and proceeding with a standard analysis can produce inferences that underestimate the true variability and overestimate the true degrees of…

A study involving 1,800 teachers and 180 headmasters assessed the nature and scope of activities and problems associated with implementing federally mandated continuous educational assessment activities at the primary school level in Nigeria. Findings indicate that continuous assessment is preferred to the narrower one-shot evaluation. (TJH)

All forms of evaluation, including teachers' qualitative judgments and quantitative information from tests and measures, have an important place in issues-based instruction. Proper assessment of as many student characteristics as possible provides an overall view vital to understanding individual students and effects of instructor, curriculum, and…

One factor preventing the wider acceptance of school-based curriculum development and assessment is the problem of comparing performances of different students, in different schools. The SOLO taxonomy is used to describe the complexity of learning outcomes in a language that is generally applicable across the curriculum. (Author/MLW)

Establishes taxonomic subclasses of application test items in the special case of the application of biological principles to familiar and unfamiliar, and agro-biological problems, in the framework of applied science teaching. Reports on the complexity of an application situation as a major criterion in the taxonomic subclassification. (YP)

Discusses writing assessment's recent evolution toward "tests worth teaching to." Urges further departure from accountability evaluation models toward an ecological model (Part two of this article appears in v10 n2 p4-10 Apr 1988; see EJ 371 768). (MM)

Four publishers responding to the previous discussion agreed that American elementary achievement has improved, but evidence presented by the Secretary of Education confirms that few real improvements have occurred since "Nation at Risk." Commercial achievement tests provide falsely high scores (the Lake Wobegon Effect). (SLD)

The effectiveness of value-added programs can be enhanced by employing appropriate methods of faculty judgments to support content-related and instruction-related evidence for validity by adapting standard-setting techniques to judge gains observed and by using appropriate caution and research designs when making causal inferences. (Author/MLW)