In "Test-Specific Thinking," the authors provide recommended practices, methods, and means for educators to implement structural schemas into teaching, helping students better prepare for tests and formulate stronger responses to certain question frames. Armed with a better understanding of how tests are designed, teachers will increase…

The instructions in this manual explain the responsibilities of school administrators for the New York State Testing Program (NYSTP) Grades 3-8 English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Grades 5 & 8 Science Tests. School administrators must be thoroughly familiar with the contents of the manual, and the policies and procedures must be followed…

This publication is intended for use by school administrators and counselors. It provides general information on Regents Examinations as well as the specific requirements and procedures for requesting, administering, and rating these examinations. This manual is comprised of the following sections: (1) General Information; (2) Requesting and…

This report provides 10 lessons about how to ensure inclusive assessment practices for students with disabilities and English learners. In addition to the 10 lessons, it provides foundational information on the characteristics of these students that require consideration during all phases of assessment design, development, and implementation. The…

The Guidelines for Good Practice of the European Association for Language Testing and Assessment (EALTA) stress the importance of collaboration between all parties involved in the process of developing instruments, activities and programmes for testing and assessment. Collaboration is considered to be as important as validity and reliability,…

In the first chaotic days of the crisis, schools across the United States organized to assemble and distribute instructional materials and to make a rapid transformation from school-based to home-based learning. the impact of this crisis on all students is significant. As districts resume instruction in the upcoming school year, they will not only…

The Indiana Department of Education's (IDOE) Accessibility and Accommodations Guidance is intended for school-level personnel and decision-making teams as they prepare for and implement Indiana State Assessments. Information is provided for school personnel to use in selecting and administering universal tools, designated features, and…

Materials compiled for a conference on the assessment of Japanese second language proficiency include a partially annotated bibliography of references concerning proficiency testing as it may relate to the Japanese language and an overview essay entitled "Towards the Development of Proficiency and Other Tests in Japanese as a Foreign Language…

A discussion of language testing focuses on how proficiency scales are constructed and applied to communicative language assessment in Australian secondary schools. A variety of rating scale types are described and distinguished according to how they are constructed, what they attempt to measure, and what criteria they contain. A more detailed…

The guide is one section of a resource kit designed to assist Peace Corps language instruction coordinators in countries around the world in understanding the principles underlying second language learning and teaching and in organizing instructional programs. This section addresses assessment issues. An introductory chapter gives an overview of…

This collection of papers is a resource for classroom teachers and program administrators who want to know not only what the communicative approach to language teaching is all about but how the goal of communicative competence is being met in teaching contexts similar to their own. Papers and authors include: "Functional Approaches to…

A collection of readings on communicative language teaching explains what communicative language teaching is and how the goal of communicative competence is being met by teachers. The following articles are included:"Functional Approaches to Language and Language Teaching: Another Look" (Margie S. Berns); "Contextual Considerations in…

The paper discusses some issues that language variation creates for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction, identifies research strands relevant to program development, and describes two dialect program exemplars. It also suggests considerations for educational policy formation with respect to dialects. The introductory section gives…

A project developed at Indiana University of Pennsylvania was designed to meet the needs of secondary school teachers of French and Spanish in two areas: proficiency maintenance and improvement, and proficiency testing. The program consisted of four phases, two during the funding period and two follow-up. The first, proficiency-building, involved…

This book describes how ESOL tests and test users have changed greatly in the past few decades. Some widely used ESOL tests have been revised, with a number of new tests incorporating advances in computer technology. In addition, many more ESOL practitioners than in the past are responsible for selecting and using tests. The authors introduce…