Gifted underachievers (n=108) were compared to gifted high achievers (n=96). All children had Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Revised (WISC-R) IQ scores of 130 or greater, but underachievers were performing at or below the 50th percentile in at least one major area of achievement, whereas high achievers were at the 96th percentile or…

At a public community college located in a Southeastern state, an innovative curriculum, including contracting, individualization and cooperative learning, was tested in two sections of a History of Western Civilization course. Contracting refers to an agreement between teacher and student, specifying student goals and objectives.…

Analysis of questionnaires completed by 27 successful Canadian women indicated that these women experienced satisfaction in carrying out research, publishing, and artistic and engineering production, while at the same time maintaining a healthy feeling of equality in a career path. Patterns of career growth indicated inconsistent vertical…

A study was conducted at Scottsdale and Paradise Valley community colleges to assess the importance of math for the study of economic principles and the extent to which a student's math background determines performance in micro- and macro-economic courses. Students (N=156) from six economic principles classes were surveyed regarding their high…

Whether gender differences in performance using computer software are due to sex stereotyping or gender differentiation in the programs was investigated in two studies. An adventure game, "King and Crown," with all male characters, and a gender neutral game, "Honeybears," were played by 26 female and 26 male 11- and…

Concerned about how well the United States Military Academy treats women and minorities, this report addresses differences in performance and experience between gender and between whites and minorities for the classes 1988 through 1992, perceptions of the fairness of the treatment that female and minority cadets receive, and actions the Academy…

The present study, which was drawn from a larger project in which teachers developed and implemented performance assessments in their classrooms, investigates children's perceptions of what reading and mathematics are and how they understand their teachers' knowledge of them as readers and mathematicians. Two students from each of 13 third-grade…

The dominant issues in considering the use of tests developed outside the classroom to measure the impact of curriculum reform on higher order thinking are reviewed by a panel interviewed for this discussion. Panel members are: (1) Stuart Kahl, (2) Robert Linn, (3) Senta A. Raizen, (4) Lauren Resnick, and (5) Thomas A. Romberg. It is conceded…

The International Personnel Management Association Assessment Council (IPMAAC) focuses on improving public personnel assessment in such fields as selection and performance evaluation. Author-generated summaries/outlines of papers presented at the IPMAAC's 1983 conference are provided. The presidential address is "Is There a Future for Test…

This catalog provides a worker-based description of duties, tasks, performance objectives and guides, and related data for physical therapy occupations. Duties covered include the following: (1) performing administrative/clerical functions; (2) communicating information; (3) providing patient care services; (4) performing support service; (5)…

The purpose of this study is twofold: (1) to examine teacher trainees' knowledge of teaching prior to training and its relationship to performance in the training program; and (2) to determine if there is a set of identifiable domain-specific knowledge related to course performance. Since trainees enter teacher training programs with prior…

The question of whether tests can be both curriculum-neutral and effective means of monitoring and motivating educational practice is discussed. Educational reform and testing are intimately linked, as tests are widely viewed as a means of educational improvement. Tests/assessments influence educator behavior by stimulating them to assure that…

This paper discusses the legal precedents and implications for non-renewal of elementary, secondary, and university and college probationary faculty. Selected federal and state cases are reviewed to show the evolution of case law from the early 1950s to the present day. Analysis of the court cases reveals that for the last 40 years the courts have…

This paper contends that, apparently, the patterns of above-norm performance that J. Cannell (1987) reported exist, although the extremity of his "Lake Wobegon" effect is perhaps overstated. The use of outdated test norms and other practices has been identified as a partial explanation for the reporting of "above-average"…

A survey of the literature of instructional evaluation, highlighting appropriate methods for encouraging, assessing, and documenting effective higher education English instruction, can aid English departments in search of valid measures of teaching effectiveness. Before a department can formalize any system of assessment, it must first establish…