Results from "Campus Trends, 1987," a sample survey of colleges and universities, indicate that 75 percent are discussing assessment, half are developing assessment procedures, and the great majority expect to introduce some form of assessment in the next few years. (MLW)

Successful implementation of assessment requires effective administrative leadership to get started, convert data to information, and use the information in making improvements. Assessment may pay its greatest long-term dividends as an organizational device for directing scarce reserves of institutional attention to teaching and learning. (MLW)

Lists technology available in the categories of sensory enhancers, keyboard adaptations and emulators, environmental controls and manipulators, instructional uses of technology, and motivational devices. Shows how to apply technological considerations to the traditional assessment concerns of health, vision, hearing, social and emotional status,…

Research on the role of nonverbal communication skills in teacher training is assessed. Nonverbal behaviors communicate teacher expectations and attitudes, regulate classroom interactions, and promote students' understanding of verbal material by structuring or illustrating content. Direct versus indirect teaching, games, and improvisation are…

Two professional education associations provide leadership by clarifying directions for scholarly inquiry at their annual meeting. The research agenda covers teaching, assessment, collaborative learning/student learning, critical thinking, liberal education/general education, and voluntary service. (Author/MLW)

Northeast Missouri State University has documented significant educational gains since the inception of its value-added approach to undergraduate education. Student assessment data can be used to increase student involvement in learning outcomes, institutional issues, and discipline activities. (MLW)

State-imposed educational reforms, including mandatory entry and exit testing, have had a major impact on Florida institutions of higher education. The use of the College-Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) is described. (MLW)

Discusses how the current management perspective in assessing student outcomes can be redirected so that assessment is used primarily to promote student development and to enhance learning. Defines assessment; describes development of an assessment program, including determining goals and assessment needs, when and how to assess, and choice of…

Describes the assessment process for students in Saudi Arabia who are interested in pursuing a higher education in biochemistry. Provides recommendations for improving biochemistry education in both high schools and universities. (TW)

A court order banned the use of standardized I.Q. tests in California because they disproportionately assigned Black and other minority children to special education programs. Nonbiased assessments of cognitive behavior were implemented. They emphasize processes rather than products of learning. The number of minorities in special education has…

Criticizes the California Assessment Program (CAP) prior to l987 for testing writing skills objectively. Describes the specific improvements in the new CAP Directed Writing Assessment which focuses on the most important characteristics necessary to a particular type of writing rather than those that are common to all types.(NH)

This article defines educational evaluation; describes its role in education; and compares and contrasts it to measurement, research, and learner appraisal. Evaluation is shown to have an important role in play in education, notably in relation to program improvement. Limitations of educational evaluation are noted. (Author/JAZ)

A variety of methods are used to assess secondary school seniors in Australia to determine college admission: locally-developed achievement tests in curricular subjects; external achievement tests; and general aptitude tests, such as the Australian Scholastic Aptitude Tests. Testing problems include aggregating and rescaling of scores. (GDC)

Results from a national assessment of science conducted by the Minnesota Science Assessment and Research Project in 1981-82 are presented. The achievement of 13- and 17-year-olds on biology items, their attitudes about science and science classes, and comparisons with data from 1976-77 are discussed. (MNS)

Results from the 1979 Minnesota Computer Literacy Assessment show that eighth- and eleventh-grade females perform better than males in some specific areas of programing, i.e., those that involve problem analysis and algorithmic application where the problems are expressed verbally rather than mathematically. (Author/LRW)