Current successes and failures in U.S. educational measurement are reviewed, focusing on criterion-referenced testing. Pluses and minuses are listed for the following: (1) the move toward authentic assessment; (2) the dominance of criterion-referenced assessment; and (3) item response theory applications. Each area is a double-edged sword. (SLD)

This paper examines general issues in the communicative skills and needs of elderly persons with mental retardation. It then compared 20 elderly and 20 young adults with mild to moderate mental retardation and found that elderly subjects were better able to respond to listener feedback and were more assertive in controlling the conversation. (JDD)

Suggests that research on teacher telecommunication networks such as LabNetwork must examine how a network contributes to the teaching practice and professional development of rural teachers and must be embedded in an understanding of the conditions of rural teaching. Discusses network potential to provide space for a professional "community…

Unsuccessful at easing teachers into heterogeneous grouping practices, an Indiana principal used a small grant allowing teachers to view thematic instruction, cooperative learning, and flexible-scheduling innovations at sister schools. For a modest cost (substitutes, lunch, and mileage), teachers made greater attitude changes in one year than…

Analysis of 126 medical school application forms included classification by application type, use of school-specific or supplemental forms, and additional biographical and behavioral information sought. Results suggest that schools eliciting more extensive responses seem to be gauging a student's potential for developing specific characteristics…

Demographic, attitudinal, and response-completion differences were investigated for initial and delayed respondents to a mail survey targeting 600 elementary and secondary school teachers. Overall response rate was 71.2 percent. Twenty-five nonrespondents were interviewed. Delay of response was associated with lower interest in the topic and lower…

The time required for 96 children (ages 8-15) with and without learning disabilities to interpret emotions based on from facial expressions, and the accuracy of those interpretations, were investigated. Children with learning disabilities were less accurate and spent more time identifying specific emotions. Both age and sex influenced response…

Offers guidelines for use in questioning children about incidents of sexual abuse. Guidelines concern children's cognitive capabilities, social and emotional responses, and language abilities. Includes the story of a 4.5-year-old girl who was questioned in court. (BB)

Mokken models of monotone homogeneity and double monotonicity and the Rasch model are compared using data from 990 young adult examinees taking a Dutch verbal intelligence test--the Verbal Analogies Test. The model of monotone homogeneity was found suitable for basic testing; more sophisticated applications appear to require parametric models.…

Offers peer-response groups as a method for teaching composition. Discusses published and student models, practicing in class with a teacher's draft, and how to form and run peer-response groups. Lists five observed qualities of successful groups, and describes how the teacher fits into the process. Includes examples from students' papers. (PRA)

Finds that, when middle school students write about relevant personal experiences before reading, they enjoy and comprehend the text more, are more on-task, offer more sophisticated responses to characters, and like the texts more. (SR)

It is contended that this book should appeal especially to those who write and administer tests designed to measure psychological or educational constructs, as well as to the classroom teacher. It would be of only moderate value to those writing questions for program evaluation or questionnaires. (SLD)

Discussion of information services at Clemson University libraries focuses on managerial, cost, and behavioral issues that arose during the process of developing online access to information. Extending the online catalog with commercial databases and locally generated files is described, cost and benefit tradeoffs are considered, and student and…

Five educators respond to a hypothetical college classroom interaction in which the teacher struggles with students' emotional responses to course content. The comments focus on these issues: resistance to difficult concepts, optimism, the teacher's role, and the relationship of emotional response and the learning process. (MSE)

The extent to which student questionnaire responses reflect students' active behavior was studied through course attendance patterns of Israeli undergraduates, student completion of a questionnaire rating college lecturers, and interviews with 36 students. In this instance, the questionnaire did not reflect actual behavior. Explanations are…