An action research project emphasized the centrality of teachers' values in teaching decisions. After identifying grading papers as a source of tension, a teacher opened decisions about grading to democratic decision making, resulting in more positive professor-student relationships, more emphasis on learning, and improved student evaluations of…

A college writing teacher offers teaching suggestions based on experience, concerning communication with students, error correction, creating priorities among objectives, making standards and evaluation criteria clear, giving positive reinforcement, encouraging use of the writing center, giving assignments that support writing objectives, and…

A third-year pharmacology course in a doctoral pharmacy program that is case based and intended for a large class is described. Aspects discussed include learning objectives, course organization, classroom activities, case selection and design, faculty involvement, grading, and areas identified for improvement. (MSE)

Asserts that two forgotten facts in educational reform are that the student is the primary client of all assessment and that testing should be designed to improve performance, not just monitor it. Includes sample portfolio performance tasks on a variety of social studies topics. (CFR)

The instructor of a university organic chemistry course describes how he has incorporated ideas about student motivation and self-regulated learning into his instruction. Specific strategies for active and Socratic learning and instruction are outlined, from modeling and classroom interaction to use of instructional materials, testing, and…

Presents 10 major issues parents need to address effectively in order to advocate for their children's education (safety, discipline, practices and policies, grading, labels, bias, curriculum and schedules, standardized tests, homework, and subject anxiety). The article suggests appropriate questions to ask the schools. (SM)

The effects of gender and behavior as perceived by teachers on their judgments of the academic skills of their students were studied for 794 students in kindergarten through grade 2 in public and parochial schools. Results show that teacher perceptions are a significant part of their scholastic judgments. (SLD)

Classroom assessment of writing is considered from an anthropological perspective as practitioners' tool use. Pan Canadian data from a 2002 English teacher questionnaire (N = 4070) about self-reported assessment practices were analyzed in terms of tool choice and use by secondary teachers of different experience and qualification levels. Four…

This book for college faculty provides a resource for developing, using, and grading classroom exams. The first chapter addresses ways to determine what content should be included on an exam. The second chapter identifies testing considerations such as number of exams, difficulty level of items, and test length. Chapters 3 and 4 provide guidelines…

This annual serial volume contains 22 articles offering practical pedagogical ideas from faculty at New Hampshire technical colleges. Section I, "Learners Conversing," includes "'Cheering': A Prelude to a Street Dweller," by Thomas Gorka; "Illusions of Fear: Unleashing My Writing," by Bruce Maville; and "Claremont's Writing Workshop," a transcript…

Policies and practices related to grading at 14 colleges and universities (8 public and 6 private) and how they have changed between 1980 and 1990 were studied along with the grading orientations and practices of over 500 faculty members. Changes between 1980 and 1990 that may have affected grades include greater prescription of the curriculum,…

Rather than providing an anthology of tests and assessment techniques, this book focuses on academic success and its maintenance and the role of testing. The discussion opens with a consideration of the relationship between assessment and curriculum. It is important to consider carefully what it is we want to teach, and it is equally important to…

A statewide survey of 536 randomly selected Virginia secondary school teachers of academic subjects explored practices and opinions concerning various aspects of classroom testing and grading. The main focus was on the use of preestablished percentage scales as a basis for evaluating students. The responses suggested that large proportions of…

This report explores some of the complexities involved in setting, maintaining, and judging standards in higher education, and examines the interactive effects that the standards of schools and colleges have on each other, with special emphasis on the implications of selective college admission practices. Focus is on whether current standards are…

Ethical dilemmas faced by many academicians in the course of their work activities and role demands are described in eight articles and 24 case illustrations. Article titles and authors are as follows: "The Academician as Good Citizen" (Bruce H. Charnov); "Fundamental Means to Ethical Teaching" (Gordon A. Walter, Mary Ann Von Glinow); "Concern for…