The V-chip is an electronic filtering device that parents can use to block the reception of sensitive or potentially harmful television programming they do not want their children to see. Given that the revised V-chip rating framework including content descriptors has been in effect for a full year, it becomes essential to examine how the array of…

This document contains the proceedings of 1999 annual meeting of the Canadian Mathematics Education Study Group (CMESG). Papers include: (1) "Mathematics Lecture I: The Impact of Technology on the Doing of Mathematics" (Jonathan Borwein); (2) "Mathematics Lecture II: The Decline and Rise of Geometry in 20th Century North America" (Walter…

Paper and pencil tests rarely assess children's developing mathematical and scientific concepts validly. There are, however, a number of authentic and meaningful ways to assess these processes. Anecdotal notes--recorded observations of children that concern what they say and do--reveal a considerable amount about these developing concepts.…

In this paper two educational consultants, one a researcher in South African issues and the other a researcher in Kazakstan issues, share their respective experiences of teaching in South Africa and Kazakstan and examine their assumptions and methods of consultation. The paper analyzes how the consultants' observations of education in these…

While assessment is the bread and butter of the teaching profession, its practitioners usually do not extend analysis of test responses beyond simple measures such as facility or discrimination indices in classical test theory. Item response theory (IRT) has much to offer but its nonintuitive content and difficulty make it a formidable obstacle in…

This set of mini-lessons contains staff meeting activities to help a school's staff understand large-scale standards-based assessment and promote student achievement through improved classroom assessment practice. These lessons contain a clear statement of what teachers need to know and be able to do with respect to student assessment. They…

This book describes how examinations and national assessments can be used to encourage more pedgaogically sound teaching and learning. It provides concrete examples of ways to measure student learning and describes how to develop, score, and interpret tests to ensure that they are valid, reliable, and fair to all children. It offers techniques and…

This Digest examines school districts' efforts to reap the greatest benefit from smaller classes. Although the report discusses teaching strategies that are most effective in small classes, research has shown that teachers do not significantly change their teaching practices when they move from larger to smaller classes. Smaller classes mean…

The educational beliefs of seven mechanical engineering faculty members at one university were examined in the context of their department and the history of the engineering education. Participants were selected to cover the demographic range across the department. Each of the faculty members was interviewed and observed at two points over the…

To get a valid picture of program impact via comprehensive data collection, combined with a focus on standards, an evaluation of a professional development program for elementary and secondary level teachers of science was carried out at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. This paper presents selected examples from the program evaluation, designed…

This book provides a comprehensive and practical resource for raising the expectations and level of instruction for gifted minority students. The volume contains case studies of multicultural gifted education in practice, suggests methods for "best practice" for classroom teachers, supplies sample activities, and provides guidelines and a…

This paper reviews literature on teacher effectiveness and evaluation. In order for teacher evaluation to be effective in terms of improving teacher performance, it has to be formative. Evaluations also can contribute to the improvement of the performance of the school overall. Teacher evaluation also has effects on the environment outside the…

This guide is an evaluation that can help one answer relevant questions about improving a reading or language arts program such as: Are there changes that need to be made? Is a stronger commitment needed to strengths identified in the program? and Are specific resources needed to make it more successful? The manual points out that if an improved…

This longitudinal study followed 10 beginning teachers from their last year of preservice education into their first two years of full-time teaching. Using sociocultural theory as a theoretical framework, it describes how these teachers appropriated a set of pedagogical tools for teaching writing. Data sources included approximately five…

Spelling words correctly in a separate subject curriculum is a rare procedure of learning today. However, correct spelling of words harmonizes well with the behaviorally stated objectives movement in that either a word is spelled correctly or incorrectly. Standardized and criterion referenced tests (CRTs) stress precise learnings in that machine…