Discussion of important questions about higher education: What should be its content? What should we educate for, and why? What constitutes a meaningful liberal education in modern times, as distinct from mere training for a vocation? (Author/ND)

Article is a statement by the Editorial Board of this journal in support of the move to comprehensive education. The need for reorganization of the examination system as the first condition for improvement of educational quality is stated. (RW)

Majority of testing programs is designed to demonstrate the superiority of performance of one student over another rather than evaluate the degree to which an individual has mastered specific skills. The necessity of changing this orientation is discussed. (RW)

Sets out the rationale of the Assessment of Performance Unit, a development that represents part of the Department of Education and Science's demands for greater accountability by the educational service for the resources it consumes. (Editor/RK)

The Committee for General and Technical Education, acting on recommendation from the Council of Europe's Council for Cultural Cooperation, began research on "experiments undertaken in Europe on unit/credit systems, modular courses and any other system likely to promote mobility and harmonize at European level the conditions for obtaining a…

Consideration of a specific group, mature women enrolled in degree courses, leads to a wider examination of the role of higher education in Australia. Focus is on the role of education in the life of individuals and in society as a whole. (LBH)

Three major issues are discussed in response to the report of the Study Commission on Pharmacy. They are: (1) determination of demonstrable competencies; (2) determination of who is best equipped to provide instruction and serve as role models; and (3) the impact of the report on the training of future pharmaceutical educators and scientists. (LBH)

An opinion is offered of the Millis Commission report on pharmacy. Two major areas are considered: levels of pharmacy practice and roles for clinical pharmacy practice. It is concluded that the report failed to explore the issues facing pharmacy in the depth necessary to initiate meaningful change. (LBH)

The best assessment instrument is the one which tests the students on linguistic patterns and speech events familiar to the student; these instruments must be oriented to the speech communities to be tested. Validation of these materials must also take place within the target population. At the same time these testing materials must test both…

Presents procedures based on Rasch measurement theory for construction of an assessment network, which is defined as a system of rate and task banks. Three general classes of data collection designs are presented to calibrate an assessment network and provide the opportunity for objective and fair measurements. (SLD)

Reports on a series of studies related to seeking a more effective role for laboratory experiences in science instruction. The study addressed the status of laboratory-based instruction in chemistry at the beginning college level. This study should be of value in the continual search to seek effective means of reforming beginning college-level…

Federal law now requires states to establish achievement goals for special-education students. This article discusses the pros and cons of assessing and setting standards for special-education students. (LMI)

Presents a daily group activity of writing equations to assess children's mathematical thinking and progress on a regular basis. Argues that this approach is one way to foster a close relationship between instructional activities and ongoing assessment. (ASK)

Describes a Japanese process-oriented approach called KAIZEN for improving the quality of existing teaching laboratories. It provides relevant quality measurements and indicates how quality can be improved. Use of process criteria sidesteps the difficulty of defining quality for laboratory experiments and allows separation of student assessment…