Locally developed occupational tests were administered to 16- and 17-year-olds in a government-sponsored vocational education program in the United Kingdom over a six-month period in 1984. Job skills were tested in two occupational areas: use of a micrometer and invoice completion. Some performance tests were designed by researchers and some by…

Explores the dependability of assessments of student achievement when used for internal and external quality monitoring (IQM and EQM). Identifies problems and suggests responses, including a radical approach based on accepting that reliable national data about complex student achievements are not available. Asserts that reliance on EQM is unwise…

This paper examines the purpose, validity, and reliability of performance indicators in higher education, focusing on the experience of higher education institutions in the United Kingdom. Specifically, it studies the role of student entry and exit performance, teaching and staff quality, retention and completion, and placement in employment as…

This paper examines the use of portfolio evaluation in accrediting higher education teachers in the United Kingdom. It explains portfolios as an approach to authentic assessment and discusses the issue of reliability in portfolio assessment when teacher accreditation depends on it. Researchers investigated one course, collecting data on 53…

An exposition is made of a method to elicit students' comprehension of the meaning of words commonly used in science, which may be influential in determining what they learn. The method's aim is to elucidate features in students' understanding of childrens' science (that found before formal teaching of science), student science (that found after…

This document contains four symposium papers on career issues in human resource development (HRD). "Are Careers What They Used To Be: A Factor Analysis of Schein's Career Orientations Inventory" (Gerri Mukri, Sharon Confessore) is a statistical analysis of Schein's Career Orientations Inventory that finds the inventory to be a…

The teacher assessment that is the subject of this paper is an essentially informal activity. The teacher assesses the student by posing questions, observing activities, and evaluating work in a planned or ad hoc way. The information obtained may be partial or fragmented, but repeating such assessments over time will allow the buildup of a solid…

The use of performance based evaluation on a national scale with 7-year-olds in the United Kingdom is described, and the impact of national assessment on teaching practice and implications of this type of assessment are considered. The national assessment program in the United Kingdom started in earnest in 1991 when all 7-year-olds were assessed…

This paper gives an overview of the methods of moderation, or quality assurance and quality control, as they may be more widely known, that are used to enhance the quality of student assessment. The discussion is based on the educational systems of the United Kingdom but is applicable to assessment in other countries. Quality in assessment is seen…