A study involving 1,800 teachers and 180 headmasters assessed the nature and scope of activities and problems associated with implementing federally mandated continuous educational assessment activities at the primary school level in Nigeria. Findings indicate that continuous assessment is preferred to the narrower one-shot evaluation. (TJH)

All forms of evaluation, including teachers' qualitative judgments and quantitative information from tests and measures, have an important place in issues-based instruction. Proper assessment of as many student characteristics as possible provides an overall view vital to understanding individual students and effects of instructor, curriculum, and…

One factor preventing the wider acceptance of school-based curriculum development and assessment is the problem of comparing performances of different students, in different schools. The SOLO taxonomy is used to describe the complexity of learning outcomes in a language that is generally applicable across the curriculum. (Author/MLW)

Establishes taxonomic subclasses of application test items in the special case of the application of biological principles to familiar and unfamiliar, and agro-biological problems, in the framework of applied science teaching. Reports on the complexity of an application situation as a major criterion in the taxonomic subclassification. (YP)

Discusses writing assessment's recent evolution toward "tests worth teaching to." Urges further departure from accountability evaluation models toward an ecological model (Part two of this article appears in v10 n2 p4-10 Apr 1988; see EJ 371 768). (MM)

Four publishers responding to the previous discussion agreed that American elementary achievement has improved, but evidence presented by the Secretary of Education confirms that few real improvements have occurred since "Nation at Risk." Commercial achievement tests provide falsely high scores (the Lake Wobegon Effect). (SLD)

The effectiveness of value-added programs can be enhanced by employing appropriate methods of faculty judgments to support content-related and instruction-related evidence for validity by adapting standard-setting techniques to judge gains observed and by using appropriate caution and research designs when making causal inferences. (Author/MLW)

Discusses the multidisciplinary team--comprised of individuals who represent various disciplines that contribute to the assessment process--and its relation to the implementation of the "least restrictive environment" for special-needs children required by Public Law 94-142. Describes the University of Florida Multidisciplinary…

Explores the reliability and validity of an affective domain instrument, the "Survey on Economic Attitudes," by providing new norms and a discussion of the properties of the national sample of high school students used. Presents current information about the economic attitudes of U.S. high school students and raises some important…

Some aspects of the tension between the concept of the teacher as evaluator and the associated idea of school self-appraisal are discussed as they apply in the United Kingdom. Evaluation of students and educational policies and programs is discussed; and an institutional framework for action is outlined. (TJH)

A broad description and critique of assessment activities in colleges and universities is presented. The ideals of assessment are discussed along with organizational realities that temper and restrain them. Suggested strategies for practicing assessment that reduces perils and enhances contributions are provided. (MLW)

The 1988 report of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy's Argus Commission, concerning the problems and priorities in assessment of the outcomes in pharmaceutical education, is summarized. (MSE)

This article reports on the inspection of one British school by the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED). Emphasis is on positive aspects of the inspection of the school's Learning Support Department serving students with special educational needs, evidences of school effectiveness, and the support of effective practice with policy. (DB)

Education standards are left to the discretion of individual states. However, efforts to help states and local school districts define world-class standards are intensifying. The U.S. Department of Education, the National Education Goals Panel, and New Standards, a partnership of 17 states and 6 school districts, are among those involved. (MLF)

If annual performance assessments are to yield results that can be compared from year to year, many technical problems must be addressed. It is essential that tests to be equated measure the same construct. Methods of equating performance assessment scores, ways of equating system assessments, and standard setting are discussed. (SLD)