Exciting developments for New Zealand education have provided opportunities recently for teachers and other educators to express their professional aspirations in assessment. The mantle of fostering teachers' professionalism through strong relationships across the education sector and relevant stakeholder groups, and the provision of timely…

A New Zealand educator attributes end-of-school year feelings of guilt about things left undone, or things that should not have been done, to not practicing evaluation as part of planning. Suggests developing a framework that ensures certain beliefs and practices consistent with the curriculum requirements. Provides an example of such a framework.…

This paper examines the problem of defining quality in early childhood centers, the nature of evaluation methods, and the contributions of research to the promotion of high quality. The concept of quality is multidimensional and dynamic, and there is no consensus about a definition of quality in the literature. Quality can be viewed from many…

Comments on the series of British books entitled "The Geography Discipline Network Guides on Teaching, Learning, and Assessment." Stresses that the guides lacks relevant information for geography teachers in New Zealand or Australia, but contends that some of the information can be adapted for educators in these countries. (CMK)

Reviews alternative assessment practices in several nations and questions whether these techniques should be used in the United States. Focuses on moderation, a technique in which trained evaluators adjust grades to ensure equitable distribution among participating schools. Concludes that evaluation in art education presents special problems and…

This paper addresses the problem of identifying and developing talent in children from culturally different backgrounds in New Zealand. The paper offers examples of how even applying the recommended "best practice" of multi-dimensional identification approaches can be inadequate for identifying gifted children from Maori, Polynesian, or…

Working out assessment philosophy and practices takes time, as the team members working on the "Competent Children" research project in New Zealand have found out during the first 18 months of the project. It is imperative that those with expertise in early childhood care and education insist on developmentally appropriate assessment…

Argues that for a child to respond to a teacher, whether by reading, talking, writing, constructing a village, or painting a drama backdrop, the child must relate, remember, relearn, monitor, problem-solve, and do all those other mental activities that help humans adapt and create new solutions. (HOD)

This article proposes that the learning stories model can be used effectively as an assessment method for young New Zealand children with special needs. In this model, early intervention assessment data are collected in natural contexts. A description of experiences in using learning stories is provided. (Contains 13 references.) (CR)

This booklet explains the operation of New Zealand's National Qualifications Framework (NQF) and its relationship to workplace assessment. Discussed first is the NQF's mission of encouraging people to continue their education and training after secondary school and permitting flexibility in where and how people train. The role of the NQF in…

Recent changes in the New Zealand government's research funding system are discussed, and the resulting system is detailed. Remaining structural problems, some of which are seen as constraining progress toward government priorities, are identified and likely solutions and trends indicated. (Author/MSE)