This report focuses illustratively on two institutional concerns for which changes in the aptitude level of entering students may have implications-attrition and grading. Implications indicated that colleges, individually and collectively, need to develop systematic programs for monitoring the incidence and determining the etiology of attrition.…

Although intercultural-communication courses are increasing in universities in this country, very little interest in these courses is displayed on community college campuses. This paper presents and discusses procedures for community colleges to develop an effective course in intercultural communication. Consideration is given to the initial…

In an effort to resolve the small school problems of limited math offerings, small classes, scheduling, and teacher overload, a secondary teacher from Quemado, New Mexico (a rural area) initiated use of five different programmed mathematics courses in one class period. Objectives were to: increase math offerings; decrease scheduling problems;…

A program in beginning French is described in which an individualized approach to language teaching was used to achieve a high level of mastery and avoid grade bargaining by varying the time needed by students to achieve mastery. The same course structure was used to train language majors as teaching assistants. (Author/RM)

The concurrent criterion validity of a modified pass/fail grading system in a medical school was assessed. The investigators examined possible differences between honor society and nonhonor society students on three medical school entry variables and on medical board scores. (Author/JKS)

Results of two experiments at the University of South Florida indicate that as grading practices are made less demanding, students learn less. They also suggest the possibility that the use of student-faculty evaluations influence the grading practices of instructors. (LBH)

Grading patterns for over 1,000 teachers, giving more than 40,000 grades in approximately 2,000 courses, are reported and a method is introduced both to normalize and stabilize grade data by courses. The findings indicate that the academic field of the course is strongly related to the types of grades assigned, but that academic credentials and…

Describes grading and scoring procedures for advanced placement examinations in two Latin courses: Vergil and Cattalus-Horace. Explanations for cited test items are offered. (CB)

A British polytechnic's first experiences with having one segment of a major examination be known to students ahead of time is discussed, and an empirical comparison of this and the traditional test type is presented. (MSE)

Analyzes several questions and student answers, and the graders' evaluations of student responses on each of two advanced placement examinations--the one which tests Vergil and the one which tests Catallus and Horace. The percentages of participants scoring at each grade level of the exam are also presented. (SED)

Discusses the effects of the grading standards of the National Criteria on Reading and stresses the importance of teaching children to enjoy reading and to appreciate literature. (DF)

Argues that current grading practices in some schools lack consistency in several critical areas, including criteria for failure, absolute or relative standards, and motivation of slower students. Policies are suggested that will help educators develop fairer and more humane marking systems. (TE)

Describes how using traditional methods to grade students' written compositions forces evaluators to undertake simultaneously two incompatible tasks, responding and assessing. Suggests that, because of variations in grading, team grading procedures be used as a workable method of arriving at fair and reliable composition grades. (EL)

An investigation to address the issue of which objective factor would predict performance during the postgraduate year residency and to determine whether the performance of applicants from honors-pass-fail schools was predictable is reported. (MLW)

A small, private, residential school provides adolescents with academic education and the learning experience gained from living and working in a cooperative environment. (JD)