Comments on the fact that conditional equity metrics report differences in performance among groups of students given one or more conditions under which that performance may have been influenced. Discusses their use as a tool for evaluating equity. Contains 16 references. (DDR)

Discusses the elements of an effective evaluation of statewide systemic initiatives in science and mathematics education. Recommends matrix thinking as an effective generator of sound evaluation questions. Contains 24 references. (DDR)

Explains the importance of student self-assessment skills and how, by sharpening these skills, students and teachers can see excellent results both in and out of the classroom. Self-assessment is explained as the central part of the evaluation section of the Big6 information problem-solving process. (LRW)

Examines distance education practices over the past 10 years that must be addressed for developing feasible distance and distributed learning systems for the 21st century. Changes in financing, accrediting, assessment, and faculty workload are recommended so that higher education institutions can function more like businesses to provide…

Describes how authentic assessment was used in a literacy education class (on integrating instruction and assessment in the reading classroom) to enhance the learning process. Shows how evaluation of students' work was improved through the feedback generated by the class. Offers advice for those striving to make connections between instructional…

Describes an English-teacher educator's teaching/learning process that honors the voices of the students and builds on their needs and questions. Describes how she combines reflection on her teaching with "refraction": finding a new view on teaching using the oblique light from students' responses from their various dialogs. Includes responses…

Two children with mental retardation were trained to emit different communication responses to request the reinforcer for destructive behavior and an alternative reinforcer. Differential reinforcement of communication reduced destructive behavior regardless of whether a functional reinforcer or an alternative reinforcer was available or whether…

A large-scale analysis was conducted of problem behavior by observing 20 individuals living in residential facilities. Data were converted into scatter plot formats. When the data were transformed into aggregate "control charts," 12 of 15 sets of data revealed 30-minute intervals during which problem behavior was more likely to occur.…

Discusses the role of libraries in providing emergent literacy experiences for children in day care and preschool programs. The importance of exposure to print is discussed, and a study is described that evaluated a library outreach program that was developed to promote emerging literacy in preschoolers. (LRW)

Presents a comparison of collocation-based similarity measures for the proper selection of additional search terms in query expansion. Highlights include evaluating retrieval effectiveness in a vector space model, thesauri, document ranking, and experiments on two Korean test collections. (Author/LRW)

A study involving 11,804 British children (age 10) found that when specified criteria for dyslexia were used, 269 children qualified as dyslexic. These included 223 boys and 46 girls, for a ratio of 4.51 to 1. Difficulties in interpreting these data are discussed and a defense of the criteria is provided. (Author/CR)

Presents a review of 54 studies on math practices for students with learning disabilities. Validated practices included strategy and self-regulation interventions. Students benefited from step-by-step processes that guided their thinking and performance when solving math problems. The use of manipulative devices and drawings also were effective.…

A study examined detailed data on 100 consecutive Special Populations Assessment and Rehabilitation Center patients and found the program to be successful in conducting interdisciplinary visual evaluations of those with multiple impairments. The types of adaptive-testing procedures used for visual acuity and visual field testing are described. (CR)

A typical instrument used to elicit college students' evaluations of teaching was critically analyzed with reference to two teaching paradigms: transmission and engaged-critical. Analysis revealed that the evaluation form does not represent all conceptions of teaching and learning, but is more consistent with the transmission paradigm and…

Identifies 10 criteria for reviewing children's books: content description; definition of audience; information on scope, tone, and style, point of view; comparison with author's other works or similar works; appropriateness of art to text; personal opinion; strengths/weaknesses; uses of the work; brevity; and judgment of literary quality.…