Competency-based curriculum (CBC) is as old as learning itself, in theory. In practice, its applications have been limited. It came of age in 1968, moving from obscurity to visibility. A source of some discussion is the difference between CBC and experience- or knowledge-based learning, and between CBC and performance based education. The…

This journal is devoted to the art of teaching in the field of speech communication. Articles collected in this issue address topics in the development of the basic speech communication course and include the following titles: "Concept Speech Assignment,""The Circle Game: A Teaching Device for the Concept of Ethos,""To Hear Ourselves As Others…

Traces the causes and effects of the devaluation of honors grades over the past fifteen years noting particularly effects on transcripts and grades as a means of exchange and suggesting faculty responsibility for restoration of academic standards. (JT)

Study was designed to measure student attitudes toward the pass-fail system of evaluation for the student teaching sequence. Questionnaire was administered to 158 student teachers and to 32 faculty members. Results of the chi-square analysis indicated that student and faculty attitudes were strongly positive. (Author)

Results indicate that students possessing an external locus of control contracted for and ultimately earned lower grades, began working more slowly, reported more state anxiety during oral assessments, and performed more poorly on a written final examination than their more internally oriented peers. (Author)

Focusing on written reports of student progress, this paper seeks to help principals and instructional improvement committees in individually guided education schools analyze their reporting systems. The report clarifies the reasons for and the philosophical bases of reporting student progress, discusses the impact of such reporting on…

A study explored the differences in performance of female and male college students in a freshman writing course. SAT verbal score, course grade, and scores on two precourse and two postcourse essays were collected for 180 students, of whom 87 were female and 93 were male. The analyses of the data examined the interactions among sex and various…

Most English teachers probably find it difficult to develop a grading system that takes into account the problems of individual students and that effectively communicates to students the quality of their work. Educators have been experimenting with written grading systems since the first system, one of predetermined adjectives, was used at Yale…

Teachers can improve classroom discipline in a number of ways. An objective grading system that is based on academic performance alone will assure students that they are being fairly graded, whether or not they are liked by the teacher. Discipline and self respect are related and hinge upon the perception in students that they are learning…

Four student-rated qualities of affective meaning associated with getting a grade of "C" in selected college courses were analyzed for their relation to student academic self-esteem and their sensitivity to two course-related context factors: course content and its intended audience. A total of 106 students in two sections of an introductory…

Characteristics of private and public schools were compared in this study utilizing data collected in surveys by the National Institute of Education, the Council for American Private Education, and the National Association of Secondary School Principals. The aims of the study were to provide a national picture of secondary education and increase…

The six learning modules described focus on specific competencies of vocational teachers. They are performance based, and involve participants in activities designed to integrate the theory of successful vocational teaching with its practice. Information is provided on course purposes and content and activities and resources involved in use of the…

A number of factors have contributed to the inflation of grades in higher education, including: the belief that grades traumatize and dehumanize students; the conviction that academic standards are unfair in light of the equality of each individual; teachers' hesitation to fail high-risk or open enrollment students; the influence of popular…

A peer-rating information system, designed to assess the ratings which peers make of each other's performance, is presented. An application of the computerized rating program, PEERRATE, to a graduate business course is described. Special features of the program are that: (1) rater bias is removed by considering only the intervals made by the rater…

Students in eleventh grade composition classes in an Ephrata, Washington, high school work in groups to evaluate each other's papers, enabling teachers to handle many more papers in much less time than usual and developing students' writing and evaluatory skills. The sequence used for each course assignment is as follows: (1) The class reads and…