The study compared selected subtests of commonly used standardized reading tests and informal placement procedures with 32 primary grade students in a summer reading tutor program. (SW)

A young child with cerebral palsy was observed concurrently using four methods of data collection--a participating master teacher, a participating intern teacher, a nonparticipant observer, and videotape recordings--which were then compared. The findings indicated that a highly trained and experienced participant observer can furnish more than…

Discusses the implementation and evaluation of a program designed to introduce student portfolios in place of formal assessments at a university preschool. Parents of an experimental group of 20 students who constructed portfolios had a better understanding of the preschool program's cognitive and academic components than parents of a control…

Responses from 427 adult basic education teachers (51 percent response) indicated that (1) 84.8 percent use tests for placement; (2) the Tests of Adult Basic Education are overwhelmingly the most frequently used; and (3) 77.7 percent find their testing practices effective, although informal observation and assessment received the highest ranking.…

Interviews with 30 British primary and secondary teachers about informal math-assessment practices revealed differences in perceptions of how students can change, teaching practices, learning styles, desired outcomes, and views of math. These differences can lead to inequities in the way students are treated in educational systems. (SK)

Holistic evaluation is a reliable, valid, and cost-effective alternative to the usual mechanical assessment of writing. Writing samples are scored on a five-point scale against an overall impression of development, organization, and coherentness. The method was applied to the Communication Activities Skills Project (CASP) for grades 3-12. Writing…

Bipolar adjective scales and bipolar graphic scales for visual ratings were validated. The study suggests a stable structure of graphic ratings of art unaffected by race or artist or viewer and art style that should prove useful in cross-cultural studies and in studies among children and the verbally impaired. (Author/RM)

To assess consistency between maternal and professional assessment of child performance, 31 mothers of disabled children (6-36 months old) participating in an intervention program completed measures of infant development, behavior, and characteristics. Maternal and staff assessments were found to be highly similar. Implications for programs are…

The psychoeducational processes school diagnosticians use in decisions about students were studied. Bogus referral problem information for one of 16 "cases" was provided: assessment data indicated average performance. Fifty-two percent of the subjects recommended special education for the average child; these decisions were a function of referral…

Reports on the implementation of an adolescent group psychotherapy process. (RH)

This investigation studied the relationship between both GCE O-level examination grades and teachers' estimates of A-level examination grades, and actual A-level grades obtained by a sample of university applicants. Moderate levels of correlation were reported in both cases, although teachers' estimates appeared to be slightly better predictors.…

Notes the disagreements that occur between business communication teachers, their peers, and their students about the evaluation and grading of student work. Initiates a larger study of this problem by asking readers to rank seven business letters written by college students. (RL)

Tested hypothesis that demographic shortages of suitable marital partners influences women's marital decisions. Found that a favorable marriage market--the relative number of men to women--increases the odds of marrying a high-status man compared with a low-status man (as measured in terms of education and occupation). (RJM)

Tests hypothesis that, relative to people who marry later in life, persons who marry young will be especially susceptible to divorce when confronted with abundant alternatives to their current spouse. Using a national longitudinal survey and census data, found no support for this hypothesis. Other findings are discussed. (RJM)

In an examination of definition of oral proficiency, this study investigated the phenomenon of variation in questions posed by interviewers at key junctures in the interview process. It is argued that perceptions of oral proficiency are reflected in the extent of accommodation in interviewer questioning. (23 references) (Author/LB)