172 the latter – with the exception of single chapters by Muir on methodology and by Slater (with several coauthors) on predicting later intellectual ability from infant information processing – are brief in the extreme, and do only the minimum to guide students through the extremely interesting papers in the collection. The Muir chapter provides an overview of methodological developments that is not only very useful for beginners, but is also highly recommended for all but, perhaps, experts. The title of the collection is misleading, as the chapters cover almost (but not completely) exclusively infancy and early childhood (in the main up to about age 4). Some exceptions occur in later chapters, but a title like “A reader in early childhood development” would have been more appropriate. Content areas most strongly represented are perception, thinking, language and reading (i.e., cognition), flanked by major sections on emotion and social development. Most contributions emphasize important, even decisive, psychological research, the major exception being Sandra Scarr’s chapter on “American child care today,” which is more oriented towards economic and social issues, and frankly advocative in nature (she favours educational vouchers). As a group, the chapters display a mild bias towards biologically oriented studies. They are up-to-date, and try to come to grips with recent positions on the nature vs. nurture issue. The papers are mostly clearly written, usually cover the relevant fundamental issues well, and frequently have a practical orientation (without loss of stringency). The collection is marked by a high level of respect for the psychological functioning of the infant. It provides a worthwhile introduction to this area, and is a valuable antidote to the still widespread misconception of infants as passive recipients of a narrow range of environmental events. Anthony DeCasper and William Fifer’s chapter on infants’ preference for their mother’s voice, or Helen Shwe and Ellen Markman’s on young children’s appreciation of the mental impact of their communications, are good examples. To fulfil its goal of offering an introduction to developmental psychology for students at all levels, the book would have benefited substantially from much greater use of explanatory and orienting material by the editors. The absence of such material limits its value as an introductory text for students in the initial stages of their courses in psychology, early childhood studies, and the like. In order to satisfy this purpose, the book would have to be used in close conjunction with orienting lectures. For people who already possess a good grasp of the fundamentals of early childhood development (including lecturers in the areas just mentioned), it is highly recommended for an academically respectable but simultaneously almost semipopular (so clear is the message) updating of their grasp of research on the competent infant. University of Hamburg Germany Emeritus Professor of Psychology

ARTHUR CROPLEY

BUDE, Udo, and LEWIN, Keith (eds.). 1997. Improving Test Design: Vol. 1: Constructing Test Items, Analysing Results and Improving Assessment Quality in Primary Schools in Africa. Vol. 2: Assessment of Science and Agriculture in Primary Schools in Africa. 12 Country Case Studies. Bonn: German Foundation for Educational Development (DSE)/London: ZED Books. ISBN 3931227 278 (complete edition). Vol. 1, 186 pp., Vol. 2, 489 pp. Improving Test Design was inspired by two pilot training workshops held in Kenya focusing on the conception and construction of test items for Science, Agriculture International Review of Education – Internationale Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft – Revue Internationale de l’Education 46(1/2): 172–174, 2000.

173 and Environmental Science and the use of national examinations to improve the quality of primary education in 12 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa. The two volumes are a vivid illustration of the processes of conception, design and implementation of primary school leaving examinations. They facilitate the setting of high quality assessment instruments to improve pupil performance and address the concern with the quality of science and agriculture in primary schools which cannot be improved without improving the measurement of teaching outcomes. The two volumes rise to this challenge since they are comprehensive handbooks targeted to help those responsible for the design, conduct and control of national examinations to develop high quality assessment instruments, provide better information on pupil achievement and influence learning and teaching to improve educational quality. The two volumes note that most examinations are norm referenced and suggest a paradigm shift through changing from norm to criterion referenced testing (CRT). CRT would assess the overall performance of the pupil and also afford teachers the opportunity to determine the future of their students through continuous assessment records. It is encouraging that countries like Botswana and Swaziland have already embarked on introducing criterion referenced testing. The participants also noted that most examination questions were at recall level, except in Kenya where they tended to stress application and performance. The first volume addresses practical issues in construction, analysis and pupil assessment procedures. It gives an overview of the development and use of criterion referenced testing in different contexts, providing examples from United Kingdom and Mauritius to highlight its strengths and limitations. The second section of the book addresses such critical issues as deciding the purposes of testing, use of specific objectives and the selection of the most appropriate test instruments and explores effective ways of reporting test results. The participants were divided into groups to do practical exercises on developing items and enhancing their sensitivity to gender issues in the selection of test items. The practice test items were trial tested in a few schools in Kenya to determine their effectiveness, reliability and validity. This volume also contained helpful analysis of the examination process by educational personnel from the Kenya Examination Council and the Kenya Institute for Education. The first volume’s appendices contain a useful collection of abstracts and papers addressing various aspects of the examination process from the region and abroad. Volume two is devoted to an analysis of the examination process in each of the 12 countries. Each country report explains how examinations are processed from conception to reporting of results. It demonstrates that in most cases examinations are handled by Departments of Curriculum and Evaluation and National Examination Boards or Councils. Teachers are reported to be involved in a very limited way in the examination process across the region. However, examination personnel produce a comprehensive review of the examination based on student performance to help guide teachers in preparing children. The second volume contains examination questions for the year 1993/1994. This is important because teachers and examination officers can study them and improve their abilities in setting effective examinations questions. The last section of volume two also contains helpful appendices of newsletters from the Kenya National Examination Council and Lesotho Curriculum Development Centre. In each case, the newsletters carried an analysis of the examination. The researchers at each of the centres analysed test items and suggested what teachers could have done to prepare pupils for the examinations. The two volumes are essential since they provide an excellent guide for teachers and examination officers on both the theory and practice of examinations in general and criterion referenced testing in particular. Another notable feature of these volumes is that they articulate problems experienced by examination personnel in the region such as examinations being set by

174 untrained people and lack of technical expertise to use technology such as computers that could enhance efficiency in handling examinations. Improving Test Design, however, has some minor problems. One of my deep concerns is that while there is a reported lack of participation and poor performance by the girl child, the practice questions tended also to be gender biased in favour of boys. Most questions in volume two are based on the boys and not girls’ experiences. Regrettably, country reports do not articulate clear suggestions for redressing the situation which could reinforce the bias against girls. Another concern is that the analysis did not go beyond the description of what actually happens in the processing of examinations. In both volumes, contributors failed to link their reports to problems of over crowding and other factors that limit student performance. Also the discussions set in the introduction and foreword of each volume are not systematically carried into the country reports. For example, there is no resolve on the daunting problems faced by teachers in classrooms and their lack of involvement in the curriculum development and examination processes. Another discomforting factor is that the illustration boxes used contain very useful information but they are not satisfactorily incorporated and constructively referred to in the text. However, in spite of these limitations, Improving Test Design could prove to be a valuable resource for examination personnel, teachers, teacher educators, curriculum designers and education officers involved with examinations in their various capacities in Eastern and Southern Africa. Department of Adult Education University of Botswana

TONIC MARUATONA

CHAPRON, Françoise. 1999. Les CDI (Centres de documentation et d’information) des lycées et collèges. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, Collection L’éducateur. 237 pp. ISBN 2 13 049833 7. Le livre de Françoise Chapron, maître de conférences en sciences de l’éducation à l’IUFM de Rouen et présidente honoraire de la FADBEN (Fédération des enseignants documentalistes de l’Education nationale), est original. Son style primesautier est une invitation à la lecture. D’une manière générale, l’auteur a pour ambition de retracer l’histoire, de dépeindre les contours actuels et de réfléchir aux évolutions futures des Centres de documentation et d’information (CDI) des lycées et collèges français, créés à partir de 1958 afin de regrouper les ressources pédagogiques des établissements scolaires. Certes, il existe déjà des études détaillées sur le sujet, mais c’est la première synthèse digne de ce nom. Il faudra longtemps et bien des efforts pour la dépasser. Le grand intérêt de cet ouvrage réside donc dans sa dimension synthétique. De plus, contrairement à l’impression spontanément éprouvée par le lecteur moderne à la lecture du titre de cet ouvrage, les CDI ne jouent nullement le rôle de l’anecdote pittoresque destinée à détendre le lecteur intéressé par l’histoire du paysage éducatif français aux 19ème et 20ème siècles. En fait, à la lecture du livre de Françoise Chapron on prend très rapidement conscience que les CDI représentent une innovation de la première importance dans l’enseignement secondaire français. Jean Hassenforder (professeur émérite en sciences de l’éducation), estime, dans sa préface, qu’il s’agit d’un espace éducatif commun ouvert à tous, d’un lieu essentiel pour la mise en œuvre d’une politique éducative, de la reconnaissance que les élèves n’ont pas seulement à recevoir une instruction mais qu’ils sont acteurs dans le processus de leur éducation. International Review of Education – Internationale Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft – Revue Internationale de l’Education 46(1/2): 174–175, 2000.