Explains why an internship is a necessary part of an applied geography curriculum. Presents a case study of an internship program at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, Toronto, which emphasizes placement in an agency with the same specialization as the student and integration of course material and field experience. (Author/DB)

Maintains that history instruction on the high school level will be improved if teachers seek to establish a valid rationale for the study of American history, set objectives in accordance with this rationale, and ensure that students do not encounter the same material in different history courses. (Author/DB)

Presents a six-step model to help teachers develop curriculum related to the Fourth Amendment (search and seizure). The model focuses on determining values and attitudes, defining valid and unreasonable search and seizure, recognizing a valid warrant, and using film to teach about search and seizure. Journal available from the American Bar…

Describes the National Assessment of Educational Progress program that makes assessments of public knowledge of science. Previous assessments were conducted during the 1969-70 and 1972-73 school years. Nine science categories will be assessed including biology, physical science, and earth science. (SL) Aspect of National Assessment (NAEP) dealt…

The controversy over standardized tests and falling scores does not address the real problem--what should be done about school learning to insure more effective in-life behaving? A basic philosophy for such a program is suggested. (Author/LS)

Discusses the development and use of an implementation scale and describes basic characteristics of the instrument. Data seem to indicate that instructional systems are not implemented fully in many schools. (Author/IRT)

Discusses a professional development program called Clinical Approaches to Mathematics Assessment. Argues for the advanced training of mathematics teachers who understand knowledge construction processes of students; can use clinical tools for evaluating a student's unique mathematical "fingerprint"; and can create or adapt problems, tasks, or…

Postmodern approaches to school-level evaluation by building on the fourth-generation evaluation model developed by E. Guba and Y. Lincoln are suggested. It is argued that this conceptualization of evaluation has particular relevance for development of alternative evaluation practices among stakeholders that can improve the use of evaluation…

Reviews the OFSTED (Office for Standards in Education) school inspection system, based on interviews with 37 teachers at 6 Welsh secondary schools. Inspections emphasize judgment at the expense of advice and can be unnecessarily stressful. The process could be improved by giving shorter periods of notice, reducing required documentation, providing…

Analyzes ways in which Latin American countries have addressed curricular regulation from the late 19th century to the present, focusing on education reforms during the 1990s in Argentina. Examines textbook policies over time and the tensions between recent decentralization policies and increasingly centralized educational assessment. (Contains 28…

The concept of consequential validity wrongly links the idea of the consequences of test use with the idea of validity, widely held to be rooted in the accuracy of inferences drawn from examinees' test performances. The reification of consequential validity can distract from a needed clarity about test use consequences. (SLD)

Describes the implementation of Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) at many educational institutions across Canada. Suggests that PLA should be incorporated into every skills training and upgrading program. (JOW)

Developments in cognitive and developmental psychology have broadened the inferences researchers want to make about students' learning and the nature and acquisition of knowledge. The principles of inference that led to standard test theory can support inference in the broader context of the cognitive revolution. (SLD)