Teachers Speak Out on Assessment Practices

A 1997 statewide survey of Michigan teachers, administrators, and parents about assessment practices revealed that all 3 groups held similar views about what constitutes appropriate assessment in the early years, and they put little faith in test scores. This study reports on follow-up interviews aimed at determining the types, frequency, and utility of assessment techniques used by classroom teachers. Specifically, this study focused on the types of assessment techniques used by a sample of elementary teachers, including how often they use paper-and-pencil tests, how often they write observation notes and what they do with the notes, whether they use children's portfolios as assessment, and whether their teaching is influenced by mandated tests. Study findings revealed that paper and pencil tests were regularly used by teachers in grades 3 and 4 (92%), and rarely or occasionally used by the teachers below that level (16% rarely and 20% occasionally). Seventy-three percent of the early level teachers and 76% of the teachers in grade 3 and 4 used observation for summative rather than formative analysis. Teachers in both groups used checklists frequently, primarily for summative purposes. Portfolios, like other assessment tools, are used primarily for summative rather than formative purposes.     

The Research Challenge Faced by the New Universities in the UK

The 1991 Government White Paper which abolished the binary divide in British universities brought the former polytechnics (new universities) into direct competition with the traditional (old) universities for research funds from the Funding Councils based on periodic Research Assessment Exercises (RAEs). The outcome of the 1992 RAE showed a predictable gap in research performance between the two groups of institutions. The challenge facing the new universities will be for some, at least, to narrow the gap and/or develop a small number of centres of research excellence and thus challenge the long standing research hegemony enjoyed by the old universities. This will almost certainly involve intense selectivity in the allocation of available research resources and will be influenced by the'missions'of the institutions involved, the extent of underlying support for such developments and the management structures and style employed.     

Difficulties in interpreting course evaluations: Some Bayesian insights

An investigation is undertaken of the nature of some of the difficulties encountered in interpreting accurately student evaluations of courses of instruction. Intuitive assessment of the results can be quite erroneous, especially if it is accompanied by a lack of awareness of Bayes' Theorem and the role of prior probabilities, as well as the record of the predictor, in obtaining an accurate interpretation of the results.