Describes an assessment model as applied in an English for academic purposes, pre-university English as a Second Language writing program that allows teachers to set standards while promoting learner self- and peer-assessment. Points out that this model encourages learner control while keeping performance-based standards at desirable levels. (13…

Asserts that middle level teachers can deal effectively with the challenges of appropriate grading for all students. Argues that motivating students with learning disabilities requires the attention of the entire IEP (Individualized Education Plan) team to modify instruction, adapt grading procedures, and keep communication open with parents and…

This article examines undergraduate course tests, letter symbol grades, and grade point averages within the context of three dominant undergraduate models of instruction: (1) information dispensing; (2) training of scholars; and (3) personnel selection agency for society. Argues for critical examination of these forces and models to prevent the…

This study of six mainstreamed students (in grades six and eight) with learning disabilities, their parents, and their teachers found considerable confusion and ambiguity concerning the impact of letter grades on students with learning disabilities. Students tended to feel helpless to achieve high grades yet blamed themselves for low grades.…

Although it is true that today's education needs improvement, schools today are not all bad. The opinions of the following five experts, whose views are worth hearing are introduced: (1) Thomas Hopkins; (2) Ralph Tyler; (3) E. F. Lindquist; (4) Walter Cook; and (5) Harold Benjamin. (SLD)

Individual students in two different sections of an undergraduate civil engineering laboratory were tasked with preparing three professional-quality laboratory reports. The teaching assistant and/or instructor used established criteria to grade the first two reports prepared by students in one section. The first two reports prepared by students in…

In 2003 the University of Cape Town introduced an anonymous examination policy. This article reports on a study of the impact of the implementation of this policy on student performance. Comparisons of student results pre- and post policy implementation showed no evidence of negative or positive discrimination of students in the examination…

This article describes the teaching method used by Timothy Hearn, a chemistry teacher at Frederick Douglass Academy in Harlem. Timothy Hearn uses a stern behavior-based classroom management system to keep his students' attention. While teaching, Hearn tracks each students' behavior on a clipboard that he always carries. He determines each…

This study of 20 preservice teachers in a secondary English methods course explored whether materials on diversity, information about language of wider communication, and literature from parallel cultures would have a positive effect on their ability to fairly assess work by high school students from diverse populations. At the beginning of the…

This paper first evaluates discipline classification schemes and general differences between disciplines associated with the natural sciences and those associated with the humanities. It then reviews research which either asked students how professors in these fields teach, observed teachers in their classrooms, or asked students to describe their…

This paper addresses problems confronting law school teachers in grading law school exams and assigning letter grades. Using prototypical dialogue and scenarios, the paper examines mathematical and statistical issues that contribute to grading errors. Discussed in relation to real world data and the bar exam are: differential weighting, combining…

This guide is designed to assist teachers who are beginning their first year of teaching Texas' Health Science Technology Education program. Discussed in the guide's seven sections are the following: the state's educational system, the teacher-student relationship, and teachers' internal struggles; planning/scheduling; classroom management…

This book provides teachers with a practical introduction to the design and development of communicative language learning tasks. The ideas presented are relevant to teachers working in or preparing for a range of situations with a variety of learner types. First, some basic issues concerning communicative learning tasks are discussed, and the…

Data from the 1980 High School and Beyond (HSB) study are used to examine the variables associated with the grades that college-bound high school sophomores received in English, algebra, and geometry courses. Special concerns included determining if gender differences in high school grades could be explained, and how teachers' perceptions of…

While field placement in human services programs is an extremely important practical phase of training, it has generally not been standardized, and thus can be difficult to assess. A model program and assessment format developed by Hudson County Community College (HCCC), in Jersey City, New Jersey, however, provides a possible framework for…