Discusses the problem of illiteracy among youth and adults in Australia and the country's problems and efforts in assessing literacy. (SH)

Suggests that the educational systems of western Europe fail to provide a significant equalizing influence. To a large degree the educational treatments and results for western European youth tend to mirror their initial social class origins and sex differences in favoring male students and students from more advantaged families. (Author/AM)

Relationship between evaluation methods and objectives and ideology is discussed. The need for qualitative rather quantitative assessment is emphasized. (RW)

Argues that assessment is not consistent with curricular or pedagogical reforms. Presents an assessment format and several variations that incorporate both individual and group work. Outlines a testing format that promotes the alignment of the assessment of student mathematical achievement and skills with some of the curricular reforms occurring…

A sample of British special needs coordinators identified numbers of children in their schools with reading difficulties. More children were likely to be thus identified in schools with higher mean reading levels. Increasing use of within-school assessments under the new Code of Practice might therefore divert resources away from the neediest. (SK)

Changing views of learning in the workplace necessitate new assessment approaches. Narrative provides a vehicle for self-reflection and examination of complex realities. Related techniques are scenario building and process mapping. (SK)

Summarizes themes from the articles in this issue: distinction between evaluation and assessment, innovation, bias, integration into program delivery, and transfer. (SK)

Presents a design framework that incorporates integrated structures for modeling knowledge and skills, designing tasks, and extracting and synthesizing evidence. Illustrates these ideas in the context of a project that assesses problem solving in dental hygiene through computer-based simulations. (SLD)

Describes the national accreditation system for higher education institutions in the Russian Federation, including the procedure for integrated assessment of university activities by the Ministry of Education, licensing and attestation requirements, state and public professional accreditation, and the experience of Tomsk Polytechnic University in…

Factors affecting achievement of National Vocational Qualifications in management include (1) candidate's self-motivation, ability to act on feedback, and report-writing skills; (2) employers support for evidence collection and mentoring; and (3) institutions use of suitable teaching methods and understanding of portfolio construction and…

Applies dialogic interpersonal issues to a controversial political issue on campus--assessment. Outlines the context for educational assessment currently and the emergence of key educational reform policies and their influence on higher education. Identifies ways in which dialogue can potentially turn a problematic situation into a genuine…

To assess high school principals' perceptions of the standards and assessment program in Nebraska, all 293 high school principals received a survey, and 261 were returned. Analysis of responses revealed eight consistent themes in principals' perceptions. These themes inform recommendations for practice and policy. (Contains 26 references.) (MLF)

Notes that there is little discussion of the goals of participating in a media-literacy program. Outlines some groundwork for the identification and potential assessment of outcomes associated with media literacy. Proposes that media literacy can help foster critical thinking and discussion of media-related issues. (PM)

The authors developed a method to identify students in a large-scale assessment program who have not taken the assessment seriously. Instead of responding according to their ability, students may respond using some pattern (e.g., ABCDABCDABCD) to a series of items. This method is compared with model-based methods of identifying such response…