The academic achievement of students in Nigeria, Sweden, Canada, and other countries demonstrates that students will work hard and achieve at high levels if they know what is expected and if serious consequences are attached to achievement. External curriculum-based examinations have great potential for educational improvement in the United…

It is argued that the modification of the Nedelsky procedure proposed by L. J. Gross is a valid approach to setting standards when clinical reasoning is measured using multiple-choice questions. An example from the Medical Council of Canada's Qualifying Examination for approximately 2,400 examinees demonstrates the procedure's value. (SLD)

This paper notes conflicts among England's education laws and discusses philosophical and practical weaknesses of the National Curriculum for serving students with special needs. European practices are described, and it is concluded that establishing central control can actually discourage curriculum differentiation and encourage the exclusion…

Studied how efforts to change public examination of secondary students toward a more constructive approach would influence teaching in Hong Kong schools, investigating teachers' perspectives of the change in relation to teaching situations and classroom practices. Classroom observation and interview data indicated that class activities changed,…

"Personalised learning" and the value of national assessment data in achieving it have been identified by the UK Secretary of State for Education and Skills as essential for raising educational standards. Employing multilevel analysis, this paper compares children's end of primary school (Key Stage 2) test scores with those they achieved…

In recent years, education systems in more than 50 countries have shown an interest in obtaining information on what their students have learned as a result of their educational experiences. It seems likely that the number of countries interested in this sort of information will increase in the future. This book is intended to provide an…

This article explores issues involved in using assessments as a means of defining standards and encouraging efforts to meet them. It compares the European examination system with the present American testing system. It also considers issues that must be faced in defining learning domains in ways that do not encourage narrowly focused training on…

In 1979, Gene Glass suggested that it might not be possible to evaluate schools nor to create widely applicable research findings, but that the complexity of education was such that merely "fire-fighting," establishing monitoring systems to alert about educational events, was the best approach. In the United Kingdom, monitoring systems…

This paper reports on many aspects of an in-progress Scottish national effort to improve curriculum, assessment, and progress reports on students ages 5 through 14. The 5-14 Development Program was launched in 1987, and this paper reports information from the first two years of operation. The study not only evaluates progress to date but also…

The Australian Scholastic Test (ASAT) was first used as a moderating device in the Australian Capitol Territory in 1977. Differences have been observed in the average performance of males and females on the test. The study reported in this monograph investigated the nature and origin of the score differences recorded for ASAT The research focused…

Nigeria will discontinue the use of the school leaving certificate examination and will instead rely on continuous assessment of students which is systematic, comprehensive, cumulative, and guidance-oriented. Eight evaluation criteria are suggested: achievement; personal qualities; interests; attitudes; physical health; and cocurricular, outdoor,…

The national examination systems of Ethiopia and South Australia are compared with an eye toward identifying problems in the Ethiopian system. Authentic assessment, which has never been a part of the examination system of Ethiopia, should be introduced along with other innovations patterned on the Australian system. (SLD)

Examines Scotland's increasingly standardized national curriculum and testing reforms. Discusses centrally determined innovations, relationships between curriculum and assessment, reforms' effects on classroom, and teachers' role. Compares elements of encroaching "market model" reforms in England, Wales, and United States, suggesting…

The traditional educational approach with students as passive recipients has been the subject of criticism. A constructivist learner-centered approach towards education has been argued to produce greater internalization and application of knowledge compared to the traditional teacher-centered, transmission-oriented approach. Nevertheless,…

This study explored the range of future policies preferred by a selected sample of Australian educators and identified the grounds on which the preferences were based. Seventy-eight policy options for teacher education in Australia were identified through workshop participants and examination of reports of inquiries and investigations in…