THE OBJECTIVES WERE THE DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNIQUES FOR ASSESSING VARIOUS ASPECTS OF STUDENT PERFORMANCE IN SPECIFIC CLASSES, AND DEMONSTRATING THE UTILITY OF THE TRADITIONAL CUMULATIVE GRADE POINT AVERAGE. TWO DIFFERENT STRATEGIES WERE EMPLOYED--(1) A MULTIVARIATE CORRELATIONAL STUDY OF GRADING PRACTICES, AND (2) THE USE OF AN OBSERVER IN A WIDE VARIETY OF ENGINEERING CLASSES AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF A VARIETY OF ASSESSMENT DEVICES. THE COURSES WERE DYNAMICS, DESIGN, AND INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING. FINDINGS CONCLUDED THAT--(1) FOR A NARROW RANGE OF HIGH ABILITY STUDENTS THERE IS LITTLE OR NO CORRELATION BETWEEN ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND INTELLECTUAL APTITUDES, (2) A VARIETY OF VARIABLES THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH MOTIVATION AND ATTITUDE ACCOUNT FOR MORE OF THE VARIABILITY IN A STUDENT'S ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE, (3) THERE IS SOME EVIDENCE WHICH SUGGESTS THAT ATTITUDES OF PERSERVANCE RATHER THAN CREATIVITY ARE HIGHLY CORRELATED WITH SUCCESS IN THE ENGINEERING CURRICULUM, AND (4) CREATIVITY AND FLEXIBILITY ARE RECOGNIZED AS IMPORTANT INGREDIENTS IN PROBLEM SOLVING, BUT THERE IS LITTLE EVIDENCE OF THIS BEING A MAJOR FOCUS OF ATTENTION IN THE TRAINING OF ENGINEERS. (HB)