Asserts that three social dominance issues have caused and continue to perpetuate achievement disparities among poor and minority students: the assumption of rightness, the luxury of ignorance, and the legacy of privilege. Describes school district initiatives, leadership, and research findings related to overcoming this achievement gap. Contends…

Issues that emerged within the context of an Australian national project on secondary education--"Reports and Records of Achievement for School Leavers"--are addressed. The role of external examinations, move toward standards-based assessment, certificates/records, tertiary selection, reporting, student-to-teacher relationship, teacher…

Asserts that receiving an invitation to participate in the National High School Honors Orchestra (NHSHO) represents the zenith in the growth and maturation of young orchestral musicians. Describes how the NHSHO was initiated so that talented youth could have the opportunity to meet and work with other accomplished musicians. (CFR)

That present grading practices are inadequate to their intended tasks, grading purposes as well as practices require examinations, and the social and educational effects of grading have been too long neglected are the basic axioms of educational reporters and academic professionals. This paper focuses on the problem of grade inflation, its causes…

Presents the results of a comparative study of Canada and Israel. Science achievements based on data collected in the Second International Science Study are examined. Also the intended and translated curriculum are considered. The populations of the study, results of the study, and the similarities between students are described. (CW)

1982-83 Georgia Regents' Testing Program reading subtest scores and five aptitude/achievement variables of 256 Black and 3009 White Georgia University sophomores were compared. Classification analysis showed White students scored higher. Results were compared to the National Assessment of Education Program findings. (BS)

Provides compilation and discussion of the results of the 13th annual Gallup survey of public attitudes toward the public schools. (WD)

The differences between Black and White students are shown to be decreasing in both academic outcomes and in levels of participation in schooling. National data in five subject areas, high school completion rates, and dropout rates are compared. (Author/GPM)

Sixth to eighth grade students received points based on weekly quiz performance and a base score derived from a pretest and adjusted to reflect actual weekly performance. The points were reported in a weekly newsletter. Students in experimental classes achieved more on a final standardized test than did control classes. (Author/GDC)

Examined practice of weighting grades to reflect class difficulty in literature in Maryland high schools, and particularly the Frederick County Maryland school system. Surveyed impact of reworked grades, teachers' attitudes, and parents' attitudes. Concluded weighting to be advantageous in college admission. (ABL)

Evaluates the achievement levels of students in the top 50 and bottom 50 Ohio school districts in terms of amount spent per pupil on instruction and the proportion of instructional expenditures committed to the school libraries. Results indicate that a positive correlation exists between commitment to the library through funding and student…

A meta-analysis determined the importance of feedback in computer-based learning; 59 studies were collected and evaluated for inclusion in the meta-analysis in terms of design, sample size, and availability of appropriate statistics. Achievement outcomes were found to be greater for the feedback group than the control group. (AEF)

Increasingly the different ways in which learning can be conceptualised alongside debates within the field of human resource development (HRD) regarding its nature and purpose, potentially lead to confusion regarding how learning is to be assessed in the workplace. This article identifies some of the complexities associated with assessing learning…

Validity of a domain-specific model of self-perceived peer and school competence was examined in a sample of 89 seventh-grade black adolescents of lower socioeconomic status. Peer and school competences were gauged via self-ratings, nomination-based peer ratings, and more objective criteria. Findings support a domain-specific model over a more…

The Free University of Amsterdam's system of internal institutional evaluation uses specific achievement measures at various levels in each field of study to assess student progress and evaluate program effectiveness. (MSE)