Feedback on student learning for instructional television in El Salvador

TESTS WERE MADE, PRETESTED, AND ADMINISTERED BY TELEVISION NEAR THE COMPLETION OF A COURSE, AND RESULTS WERE REPORTED TO THE STUDIO IN TIME TO PREPARE A SPECIAL REVIEW OR REMEDIAL BROADCASTS IF NECESSARY. THE METHOD WORKED VERY WELL IN TWO COURSES AND IS BEING EXPANDED TO COVER MORE COURSES DURING THE 1971 SCHOOL YEAR. THE BASIS OF THIS METHOD WAS A SHORT, 20 MINUTE TEST OR EXERCISE. FROM THE RESULTS OF THESE TESTS AND ADDITIONAL RESEARCH, THE FOLLOWING RECOMMENDATIONS WERE MADE: 1) PROVIDE TEST RESULTS FOR ITV PRODUCTION TEAMS IN TIME TO TAKE IMMEDIATE CORRECTIVE ACTION IF NECESSARY; 2) PROVIDE EMPIRICAL DATA ON TEST RESULTS FOR PERIODIC REVISION OF ITV CLASSES AND MATERIALS; 3) ALERT EVALUATORS TO PROBLEMS AND TO THEIR POSSIBLE CAUSES; 4) PROVIDE INFORMATION ABOUT THE MOST SUCCESSFUL SUBJECT MATTER AND TEACHING STYLES; 5) PROVIDE IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK FOR EXPERIMENTATION WITH TEACHING METHODS; AND 6) HELP TEACHERS IDENTIFY PROBLEMS IN ORDER TO TAKE CORRECTIVE ACTION.