A business administration program in England introduced the use of formative (20 percent) as well as summative (80 percent) evaluation in assessing student performance. Since the practice began in 1974 it seems to have helped improve student grades in all subjects it affects. (MSE)

A survey of problems in assessment and examinations in modern languages is offered, focusing in part on lack of consensus among teachers on relative weighting of qualities sought in student answers. Developments in standardized examinations are noted. (MSE)

Problems in improving the reliability of essay marks are examined in this Australian study that considers the markings of 338 essays, each marked by one of 13 graders. It is concluded that improvement is needed but the changes necessary for the improvement are not feasible. (LC)

The importance of assisting students to be realistic judges of their own performance is discussed. Implications of self-assessment are examined, based on a study of the self-appraisal abilities of 23 engineering students, the majority or whom were found to be competent. Less assessment for marks and more for diagnostic feedback is advocated. (LC)

Discusses a study in which data regarding the relationship between grades and student evaluations of teacher performance were analyzed. Findings indicated that there exists a grade-evaluation tradeoff and that, consequently, administrators should take grade distributions into account when using teaching evaluations as a measure of faculty…

The author provides a personal account of the actions taken by several teachers at Naperville High School to individualize a traditional Freshman English course through learning modules and a credit/no credit grading system. (Editor/SJL)

The grading orientation of college faculty who assign high grades focuses on the individual student rather than the comparative aspects of grading. (JD)

Contending that present measures of student gains resulting from changed teaching methods are ineffective, the author proposes on "automated examining machine" that would enable students to monitor their own progress. This system would allow teachers to become friendly consultants instead of bosses or judges. (Author/WB)

Presents a flexible plan for scoring straight-copy timed typewriting in any typing class, secondary or postsecondary, which is particularly useful for classes where the students have varied backgrounds in typing. (MF)

The harm done to slower pupils by an elementary school life of Ds and Fs may forever deprive them of the substantial affective gains possible in mark-free elementary schools. (Author/IRT)

A teacher describes her method for putting students in small groups so that optimum learning takes place. (MK)

College juniors (N=28) tested two versions of the Marshall Flotation Technique to obtain consistency of descriptive comments in rating themes compared with number and letter grades. High reliability estimates for all four pre and post-test groups and a significant decline from pre to post groups in number of comments resulted. (Author)

The other inflation is grade inflation, the label affixed to the indisputable rise in the grade-point averages of undergraduates at public and private, elite and community colleges and universities across the country. The effects of grade inflation upon academic performance were assessed. (Author/RK)

A former principal of a nongraded elementary school discusses the nongraded, multiage philosophy, effects of multiage grouping, prevalent misconceptions, and suggestions from practice. Critics often mistakenly characterize multiage classrooms as homogeneous, unstructured, and team-taught; appropriate for kindergarten and primary children only;…

Suggests two ways to make grading of writing easier, fairer, more helpful to students: first, using minimal grades or fewer levels of quality, and, second, using criteria that spell out the features of good writing sought in the assignment. Discusses minimal grading techniques in contexts of low-stakes writing, high-stakes writing, the final…