In the past twelve years (1997-2009), Brunei Darussalam has implemented three major educational policies: (1) inclusive education, in 1998; (2) the National Education System for the 21st Century known in Malay as Sistem Pendidikan Negara Abad 21 or SPN21, 2008; and (3) education for the gifted / talented students, 2009. These changes are partly…

Reviews ERIC documents dealing with the preparation and use of informal measures of reading comprehension. (DD)

Outlines critical weaknesses of many assessment procedures. Argues that, to be meaningful, the act of assessment must in some way enhance the learning process. Discusses establishing purpose for assessment and selecting criteria. Outlines alternative assessment techniques. (SR)

School social services may seem highly bureaucratic, with staff members filling narrowly defined roles. In practice, the delivery of social services to high school students faced with pregnancy, alcoholism, divorce, suicide, and other problems is exceedingly informal. Considerable discretion and autonomy are needed to serve students with problems…

Suggests that a direct approach to developing positive job attitudes can be successful in office machines classes, as well as others offering individualized instruction. Includes checklists to stimulate thinking and to make students aware of positive job attitudes and work habits. (JOW)

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.…

Offers suggestions for informal formative assessment for the mathematics classroom. Describes classroom activities that allow teachers to assess students' mathematical content knowledge, mathematical processes, and mathematical dispositions. Argues that formative assessment is part of good teaching, making instruction more targeted and more…

Presents short quiz for teacher self-evaluation developed from 145 students questioned concerning major strengths of teachers. Teacher strengths include: (1) practices fair discipline; (2) respects student privacy; (3) shows concern for learning; (4) listens; (5) communicates honestly and nondefensively; (6) recognizes individuality; and (7) sets…

Argues that informal assessment is an important bridge between formal assessment and classroom instruction. Notes that one way to keep an informal record of a student's progress is to maintain a portfolio, a collection of student work that reveals both affective and cognitive growth. (RS)

Describes the development of an informal syllabication instrument that has proven useful in determining the strengths and weaknesses of secondary school students' word attack abilities. (FL)

Suggests that informal reading inventories (IRIs) should include both narrative and expository passages. Describes a study of several reading inventories indicating that some current secondary school IRIs have been constructed with some consistency of text types, but failed to reveal a clear picture of text structure for the inventories. (HTH)

Reports on a case study designed to determine whether marking standards and reliability of assessments change significantly from one occasion to another. Finds a sex bias occurs with both men and women judges, leading to significant changes in the measures for girls, but not for boys. (KO)

Presents anecdotal data from informal discussions with 12 secondary teachers about types of evidence of students' mathematics achievements that were used by the teachers. Discusses oral evidence, written work, observed actions, voluntary use of mathematics, knowledge of the child, teachers' views of mathematics, and behavior and body language.…

Describes how the retelling of stories can reveal (1) the point or points students see in the stories they read and (2) the problems students have organizing the different elements of a story into a coherent whole. (HOD)

Describes one teacher's implementation of subjective grading to assess student's achievement on mathematics tests. Reports student and parent reactions to the method. Shares five practices that developed with the experiences, and provides an example of the grading policy utilized. (MDH)