A study involving 114 educators of students with profound and multiple learning difficulties, interviews with 20 head teachers, and observation in four British schools, found student assessment was largely informal, Individualized Education Programs were often lacking in detail, and about one-third of teachers had no special education…

Examines issues concerning school vouchers as a way to improve the nation's public schools. Focuses on: (1) inequality in teaching and schooling; (2) public education and social mobility; (3) the Cleveland, Ohio school voucher program; (4) how school vouchers undermine public schools; and (5) the political debate. Asserts that voucher programs are…

Argues that quality issues in Norwegian day care are related to the shortage of qualified public day care directors and the expansion of questionable private centers. Notes that the current view on improving quality is to stimulate innovation in day care activities by rewarding local initiative and to institute quality control measures. (DSK)

Uses two sets of quality measures of group care to assess their predictive power for measures of the development of children in German group day care. Reports finding that measures of adult-child, child-child, and adult-adult interactions predict development levels when measured by long-term participant observation in a natural day care…

Evaluates the quality of the caregiving environment for young infants in day care centers in Athens (Greece) using three global measures: ITERS, PROFILE, and CCFS. Reveals a great similarity among the three measures. Reports a generally low quality for day care, lower than for other countries with similar research. (DSK)

Illustrates problems facing researchers trying to demonstrate causal relationships between types of nonparental care and differences between groups of Swedish children. Argues that efforts must be made to validate and interpret differences that are found. Indicates ways to avoid misinterpretation of differences that are attributable to…

New Zealand's Education Review Office and England's Office for Standards in Education attempt to construct school failure as the clear responsibility of schools in order to gain ideological power as agents of accountability. These "politics of blame" are contested in both settings by an alternative "contextual" claim involving…

Discusses an innovative process that was used for engaging prospective teachers in collaboration and reflection on their learning as they developed a multi-media portfolio. (Contains 15 references.) (WRM)

A study investigated whether the use of American Sign Language as an accommodation affected the validity of standards-based assessments given in 12 classrooms of students with hearing impairments. Findings indicate sign language translation can result in the omission of pertinent information required to answer test items correctly. Suggestions are…

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) and the Maryland Learning Outcomes (MLOs) on mathematics classroom instruction and assessment practices, professional development, and student learning. The data sources included questionnaires for principals, mathematics teachers, and…

Apart from the annual returns to the Ministry of Education of Reading Recovery (RR) data (and to a lesser extent, the four-yearly National Education Monitoring Project cycle data), there is currently no national data sets of reading achievement information for New Zealand primary school children. This article uses the national RR data for 2002 as…

This study explored the impact of learning a new instructional practice in a US school district that places great value in a statewide student assessment. Grounded Theory methodology (Strauss & Corbin, 1998, Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory, 2nd Edition, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA)…

The design of a web-based course is discussed based upon considerations of content, pedagogy, learning styles, and assessment. The learning styles are examined as primary considerations and indeed dictate needed elements in a web-based course. Assessment is also considered in the initial planning of such a course. These design elements are…

Over the past twenty years American education has seen many changes, and most notable have been those related to accountability and assessment. One aspect of these changes has been the movement toward more specified student learning outcomes. In discipline after discipline content standards have been developed outlining that which students should…

This article considers the role of culture in establishing a program of educational reform in Lithuania, a former Soviet Bloc state. Specifically, through a comparative analysis of survey information from an international cross-section of individuals involved with educational reform programs in Lithuania at the local, regional, and national…