Reviews the Council of Chief State School Officers' effort to establish a nationwide system of educational indicators. Suggests the benefits of such a system. (MCG)

The detrimental effects of nonresponse bias are particularly significant given the widespread use of the survey data collection method in educational surveys. Current methods for remediating nonresponse bias in educational surveys are explored and critiqued. (Author/LMO)

The "what" and "how" of the Assessment of Performance Unit surveys of the mathematics performance of 11- and 15-year-olds in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland are explained. The framework and forms of assessment are detailed, and the experience of the testers noted. (MNS)

For the first time in over two decades, students enrolled in British Columbia, Canada, senior high schools in 1984 had to write external examinations in history, geography, and other subject areas, regardless of their academic standing. The implications of British Columbia's new assessment program for classroom instruction are discussed. (RM)

Examines some of the variables that have been found to affect topic choice and writing performance in writing assessment. (FL)

Presents findings from an assessment of medical education in the United States and Canada, offering suggestions for changes in current practices. These include rote learning, an emphasis on science that virtually excludes the humanities, and instructional methods that make students passive recipients of information. (JN)

Although evaluation practice in Israel is strongly influenced by American thinking, it is also a unique local response to societal, political, academic, cultural, and interpersonal pressures. In this interview Arieh Lewy discusses educational evaluation in Israel and the cultural context in which it operates. (Author/BS)

Assesses major findings and recommendations of the education commission reports and discusses issues and topics that they avoid. Argues that the inadequacies of the reports derive from the defective nature of the commission process itself. Also argues that even if the commission reports had never been issued, American schools would be on the mend.…

Examines prevailing definitions of coherence in text. Cites writing samples from the National Assessment of Educational Progress to illustrate how coherence at the paragraph level must supersede coherence between sentences. (HTH)

The overall effectiveness of a school program can be assessed through a matrix sampling technique. In Illinois a district gathers evaluative data in 10 content areas by administering tests to sample groups of students. (MD)

Relates how the twin pressures of ignorance and prejudice acted as a serious stimulus to the replacement of the 1944 syllabus of the New South Wales curriculum with that of 1953. (HOD)

Presented is a discussion of the needs of any program in which an educational assessment of students at the end of their secondary schooling is conducted. (SL)

A study conducted with secondary level students in a Swiss school shows that the future of the language laboratory cannot be disassociated from other aspects of second language teaching. (Text is in French.) (CDSH/CLK)

Discusses the development of the National Assessment of Educational Progress and describes how its methods and materials are being used in Nebraska, Connecticut, Maine, and other states as a tool to improve educational programs. (Author/JG) Aspect of National Assessment (NAEP) dealt with in this document: Results (Utilization).