Article states: "It is important to develop selected criteria to utilize in the making of decisions in teaching and learning situations in the school setting." The author recommends and discusses several possible criteria. (Author/RW)

Launched from a social studies class, the institute for Political and Legal Education shows students how government really operates by getting them involved in it. (Editor)

Reported are citizens values regarding the importance of: (1) various university goals and activities; (2) various academic fields or disciplines; and (3) various reasons for attending the University of Minnesota. In a stratified random sample of 722 Minnesota citizens there was a 56 percent response rate and categories of values were identified.…

Discusses definitions and standards of literacy while comparing the cultural-transmission and progressive views of education. (RL)

Proposes an alternative to discipline-based art education (DBAE) called Aesthetic Response Theory (A*R*T*). Reviews problems of DBAE and outlines a curriculum based on the A*R*T* alternative. Concludes that the A*R*T* approach makes the serious study of art more feasible for classroom teachers. (BR)

Describes the SOLO Taxonomy, a five-level hierarchy designed to help teachers evaluate the quality of students' thinking. Illustrates how the taxonomy may be used to construct questions and score responses to test questions. Concludes that the taxonomy has broad curriculum applicability and can make a substantial contribution to improved teaching…

Calls for discontinuing the teaching of the "masterpieces" and modern art in the British primary school. Argues that images of a wider, more accessible kind should form basis of primary visual education. Concludes that children should have a foundation in disciplines such as history, sociology, and art before sophisticated visuals are…

Reports the results of developing and pilot testing assessment procedures for evaluating the level of program implementation of administrative and leadership roles in an innovative early childhood education program. Subjects were school principals, educational program specialists, and classroom teachers in five urban schools. (Author/BB)

Researchers who compared Nebraska high school curricula between 1953 and 1983 have developed a model readily adaptable to individual districts desiring a more informed basis for decision making. (Author)

The article describes curriculum development of a course for college students of lower ability and potentially lower motivation. The discussion addresses content, sequencing, and assessment. (PK)

Describes Phase Four (contextualized literacy assessment) in the evolution of writing assessment, which would replace accountability approaches to assessment with an ecological model focusing on good instruction. Itemizes specific changes which could accompany movement into Phase Four by established assessment communities. (MM)

Shows how an elementary school's spelling program evaluation led to the formulation of a spelling policy reflecting the school's whole language approach to learning. (MM)

Uses a five-factor model to determine the relationship between certain Rotterdam primary school characteristics (specifically the school climate) and the effectiveness of education. Concludes that, since only one of the criteria of effectiveness was met, this instrument is not suited for determining differences in those characteristics of school…

During two periods of expansion in higher education, the curriculum of undergraduate education has undergone major changes. Toward the end of each period of expansion, a movement for assessment has developed, with the goal of restoring coherence and substance to the undergraduate program. (MLW)

Many of the issues concerning assessment in higher education are really issues of values, philosophy, and theory, rather than practical, nuts-and-bolts issues. Excellence as the development of human talent, competition or cooperation, outcomes, and improving assessment practices are discussed. (MLW)