Describes the role of the World Bank in supporting educational improvement in developing nations since 1963. Assesses the impact of programs in curriculum development, teacher training, and nonformal education and training. Concludes with five lessons that are recommended to guide future World Bank funding. (CFR)

Discusses variables that affect the success of distance education programs in elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education or corporate training environments. Topics addressed include needs assessment, audience analysis, instructional design, course selection and reconfiguration, instructional delivery systems, adapting media and other…

Current national efforts to expand the role of educational assessment and change the nature of assessments are discussed. Rationales for expectations that a new national examination would spur educational reform are analyzed; and the challenges of performance-based assessment, particularly in its validation, are examined. (Author/SLD)

The development of a hypothetical testing program designed to provide optimum information about student achievement is chronicled. Computer adaptive testing and performance testing are postulated as part of the program. What optimum information really means is discussed. Optimum is only optimal when theory and application are balanced. (SLD)

A 1977 study examined the organization of six medical schools' basic sciences, including faculty research interests and department affiliations, and was updated with 1987 data from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Results show overlapping research interests, blurred departmental boundaries, and divergence between faculty research…

Uses handwriting samples of 12 undergraduates to explore whether teachers give higher marks to students' work in good handwriting and whether the students' gender may be surmised by their handwriting. Results show grading is not influenced by handwriting quality and finds no effect of gender attribution on grades assigned. (NL)

Santa Fe Community College (Florida) has used computerized adaptive testing with students placed in developmental reading, writing, and mathematics courses. Computerized adaptive testing utilizes the capabilities of microcomputers to adapt examinations to the abilities of individual students, may be less threatening to students, is preferred by…

Reports on a survey conducted to determine whether two-year colleges are prepared to meet commerce/industrial needs for a more sophisticated and globally competitive workforce. Presents findings related to the internationalization of occupational curricula, short-term training and services, the characteristics of heavily involved colleges, and the…

The Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is evaluated using a unified view of test validity that requires that validity be considered from an approach requiring many sources of corroboration. A review of available literature suggests insufficient evidence to support the tenets and claims about the utility of the MBTI. (SLD)

Illustrates how teacher action research can be the ammunition for teacher advocacy and the cornerstone of empowerment through the example of the New York City Accountability Project. The goal of the project is to support teachers' efforts to introduce better assessment strategies that support instruction. (SLD)

A teacher incentive/reward program is presented based on the view that teachers should be assessed in part with regard to their success in fostering learning in the students taught. The major issue in teacher evaluation must be the outcomes achieved. The case study of an Oregon high school illustrates such a system. (SLD)

Examines how well the International Baccalaureate (IB) achieves its aims of inculcating international attitudes while maintaining students' cultural identities. Finds that international attitudes may be more affected by the social environment of IB programs than by the curriculum; success at cultural maintenance varies by culture, with Western…

The primary-secondary (S1 and S2) "divide" is one contentious area in restructuring education in Scotland. Education is caught between the forces of culture fragmentation and the centralizing tendencies of government. Articulation of education levels in a national framework reflects the influence of cultural and economic trends on…

As an alternative form of mathematics assessment for use with limited-English-proficient students, 14 mathematics tasks using manipulatives were administered to 45 Hispanic students in grades 1-3 and readministered 2-3 weeks later. Test reliability and validity, task difficulty, and the relationship among test subscales across grades were…

Describes an alternative, multicomponent assessment model that increases the probability of early identification of at-risk children who demonstrate the potential to be gifted. The model combines the use of traditional intelligence tests with nontraditional assessment strategies, including behavioral observations and curriculum-based assessment.…