In this paper we examine the use of student drawings as a means of investigating students' perceptions of a particular school-based experience, namely Sport Education--for which we are using the description proposed by Siedentop (1994; 1998). On completion of a 16-week season of Sport Education in a primary school in the Midlands of England, 46…

This article provides an illustration of how multilevel modelling, which is the standard method for assessing the "school effect" in school effectiveness research, can be combined with the regression-discontinuity approach. While multilevel modelling yields only estimates of relative school effects (differences between schools), the…

It is now a matter of routine that schools in England are able to demonstrate the value of their work in terms of "impact" and "outcomes." In the province of imaginative education this is problematic. While Government has sought to create a new relationship between inspection and school self-evaluation, this in effect has…

This paper provides an overview of inspections in England's schools. The paper describes four approaches to inspection: inspection in the pre-1993 days; the current inspection system in elementary-secondary education; inspections initiated by the schools themselves; and inspection in further-education colleges, which are similar to community…

Examines six basal series commonly in use in British schools and reveals that they give only brief attention to developing children's awareness of reading and its purpose. Provides a checklist for evaluating materials for their effectiveness in conveying the value of reading. (FL)

Findings from reports of 75 children (ages 3-5) with autism indicate 39% had no standardized assessments before education authorities determined their special education provision and only 9% had follow-up assessments for evaluating progress. The development of a protocol for prescribing specific educational intervention and evaluating progress is…

This article addresses the controversial question of whether student learning journals should be assessed. It draws on a collaborative action research project into the uses of learning journals at the University of Sussex in which assessment was continually debated. The characteristics of learning journals in terms of pedagogic purpose, outcome…

Higher education institutions have long argued that they have a distinctive and critical role to play as partners in initial teacher education. This research offers an evaluation of this claim by exploring the contribution of higher education alongside the school-based input it is intended to complement. Using a case study approach within a…

This article reports on the findings of a questionnaire survey of 142 educational psychologists from England and Wales on their approach to the assessment of children with learning and behavioural problems. Participants were asked to report on the frequency with which they used a variety of approaches to assessment, including interviews with…

Provides a descriptive overview of the design, revision, and execution of a research project undertaken at the Department of Library and Information Studies at the Manchester Polytechnic to evaluate the attitudes of library science students toward computers before and after the completion of a course in library automation. (JL)

Criteria used in awarding physics honors degrees are examined including the use of "total grade," combining written examinations, laboratory work, and other course work. Variations in practice are shown to exist and doubts have arisen about the validity of the average degree examination as the basis for professional standing. (JMF)

Outlines an observational album assessment device, which describes children's reading behavior, taking into account attitudes, responses and strategies to produce a profile of each reader's achievements. (NH)

Responds to Doug Boughton's accompanying essay based on input from notable assessment practices in Europe and Australia. Addresses what is meant by criteria, objectives, and standards and what role they play in visual arts assessment. Offers a model for rethinking the structure of assessment with respect to these components. (DSK)

Documents the practice of and attitudes to teacher assessment by Year Two teachers in England. Discusses assessment of process skills and the effects of assessment of children's learning and teachers' practice. Links findings with previous research and proposes a developmental model that describes and explains assessment approaches. (DSK)