Tests are used for making decisions about students, including decisions about promotion, in-grade retention, and high school graduation. This article provides criteria for evaluating the technical quality of tests used for high-stakes decisions in education. The intent is to provide educators with information for evaluating their testing program.…

School counselors are responsible for addressing social and personal issues, educational issues, and the career needs of students. Recent emphasis on high-stakes testing and school accountability has resulted in counselors focusing more of their time on schoolwide testing programs. A statewide survey provided information on counselors' attitudes…

Discusses the educational legacy of Hilda Taba's work, especially her 1962 book "Curriculum Development: Theory and Practice." Highlights Taba's process for selecting content. (Contains 21 references.) (PKP)

Identifies definitions and types of informal learning. Examines issues such as the utility of informal learning, the processes involved, and the lack of methods to assess the quality of learning acquired informally. (SK)

Reviews three professional resources which discuss the issue of the best time to present specific components of the language arts curriculum. (MG)

Discusses curtailing the misuse and misinterpretation of standardized tests, and suggests ways to improve existing tests while reviewing the Test of Early Reading Ability-2, Tests of Reading Comprehension, and Effective Reading Tests. (MG)

The book reviewed is a compendium of current thinking about measurement theory and test use. It includes content by 26 authors at 3 levels: (1) accessible to educators, policy makers, and graduate students; (2) suited for technical students; and (3) written for qualified measurement specialists. Strengths and weaknesses are noted. (SLD)

Characteristics/roles of the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) were compared to those of other, similar professional organizations, using data from 24 completed informal surveys. The other organizations include American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, and Association for Measurement and…

Reviews two tests which highlight important trends in the assessment of learning disabilities, and presents potentially valuable, practical developments in assessment. Identifies the recurring problem of the lack of a theory, construct, or clear definition to guide the assessment of learning disabilities. (MG)

Analyzing growth rates and percentiles of achievement are two ways that school systems can evaluate school performance. Boards should also consider parent-teacher satisfaction, internal management systems, school board evaluation, and a number of other indicators. (MLF)

The evaluator's roles--change agent, manager, resource person, interpreter, and liaison between the project and the funding agency--are described, concerning the evaluation of innovative projects in education. Difficulties in obtaining desired commitments (i.e., a project's financial commitments and its positive attitude toward the evaluation…

Reports on a biochemistry education workshop held at the University of the Philippines, in October, 1987 sponsored by the Philippine Biochemical Society. Discussed are biochemistry research, and the problems of biochemistry education in the Philippines. Four addresses made at the workshop are summarized. (CW)

Described are discussions held concerning the problems of biochemical education in Brazil at a meeting of the Sociedade Brazileira de Bioquimica in April 1988. Also discussed are other visits that were made to universities in Brazil. Three major recommendations to improve the state of biochemistry education in Brazil are presented. (CW)

Strategic planning is a long-term planning process that allows school leaders to decide where they want to go and how they intend to get there. The procedure is outlined graphically, and a hypothetical example illustrates the steps of the process. (MLF)

Examines the social framework and influence of public assessment within school systems and identifies three directions for assessment reform: (1) increasing authenticity and realism of assessment tasks; (2) increasing interpretive quality of assessment and information; and (3) increasing integration of teaching, learning, and assessment processes.…