Provides a meta-analysis on the effect of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) over a range of study features with a focus on the effectiveness debate. Suggests that what accounts for the typical learning advantage of CAI is the better quality instruction provided by CAI materials. (Author/AEF)

Discusses issues involved in the assessment of community nurseries providing integrated education, health, and social services in the Strathclyde region of Scotland. Describes a quality assessment that found that quality varied over time and between institutions, although all showed improvements by the third and final rating. (MDM)

In 1992, a national quality assessment report covering courses in all the Swedish schools of mechanical engineering was presented. This article comments on the general ideas and specific proposals presented, and offers an analysis of the consequences. Presents overall considerations regarding quality issues, the philosophy behind the new…

Introduces the assumptions behind responsive assessment--an approach to academic assessment that shifts the focus away from routine application of standardized assessment measures and toward understanding the immediate educational needs of learners. Articulates guidelines for the practice of responsive assessment and identifies barriers to its…

Defines what a concept is, evaluates the educational quality of concept books, suggests books suitable for young children, and discusses how concept books are tools for supplementing and reinforcing direct hands-on learning experiences. Concept books on color, shapes, numbers, counting, texture, movement, sound, and the alphabet are evaluated.(JMV)

Test developers have an obligation to create the most appropriate assessment instruments possible as L. J. Kilian argues, but whether they do or not, educators still are responsible for providing test preparation that is professionally ethical and educationally defensible. (SLD)

Ratings of a British rural comprehensive school were obtained from 98 of 170 parents of new entrants, 93 of 180 other parents, and 198 of 300 community members. Cumulatively, the most highly rated items were work emphasis, subject help, teaching method, exam results, discipline, staff demeanor, pupil appearance, and pupil demeanor. (SK)

Seven responses to a U.S. Department of Education report assessing programs and services for talented and gifted children are presented by Charles F. Desmond, James R. Delisle, Gail E. Hanninen, Anthony Miserandino, Stephanie Tolan, John F. Feldhusen, and James J. Gallagher. (JDD)

Lessons designed to prepare students for standardized tests are replacing lessons designed to help children think. Instead of national standardized test scores, schools should use local criterion-referenced tests; take a baseline measurement; compare test scores with districts having similar demographics; compare students, not grade levels; and…

Proposes strategies for teachers to use when they first use portfolios to assess mathematics learning in the classroom. Includes discussion of a collection with a purpose, student involvement in the process, criteria for evaluation, benefits and opportunities, and a sample focused-holistic-scoring rubric. (MKR)

Addresses the value of quantitative management and its potential to support qualitative sources of information and to help rural school administrators recognize patterns and trends relevant to educational planning and administration. Describes three situations in which quantitative information was used for improving educational outcomes and school…

The validity of cloze as a measure of intersentential comprehension (across-sentence information integration) was studied with 281 fifth graders by comparing it with a second measure expressly designed to assess such comprehension. Results suggest that cloze scores may reflect intersentential comprehension sufficiently to warrant their continued…

This collection of diverse conference papers discusses work in the traditions of factor analysis, ordinal psychometrics, structural equations, and some special purpose models for the analysis of change. It is a useful source, but does little to link the psychometric framework to general developments in statistics and other disciplines. (SLD)

To provide an introduction to item-response theory (IRT) for individuals with modest statistical and mathematical skills, the book emphasizes a conceptual approach to understanding IRT concepts. The book fills the gap between mathematically detailed studies and summary chapters on IRT in general texts. (SLD)

Multilevel models used to assess and compare school effectiveness, particularly their application to multivariate data, are critiqued. Problems associated with standard errors of measurement and the various components of "school effect" are highlighted in terms of how they could affect incautious application of the models. (TJH)