Researchers, educators, professional organizations, administrators, parents, and policy makers have increased their involvement in the assessment and evaluation of early childhood education programs. This interest has developed swiftly during the last decades. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the National…

This paper explores the feasibility of developing a single-user microcomputer-based testing system. Testing literature was surveyed to discover types of test items that might be used in the system and to compile a list of strategies that such a system might use. Potential users were surveyed. Several were interviewed, and a questionnaire was…

This article discusses practical and theoretical problems related to the measurement of formal operations. The first section of the article discusses problems in measuring formal operations using the clinical interview method. These problems include the lack of both a standardized interview and a uniform scoring procedure. Section two discusses…

The present investigation was intended to provide information on the type of strategies employed by learning disabled (LD) students on standardized, group-administered achievement test items. Of particular interest was level of strategy effectiveness and possible differences in strategy use between LD and non-disabled students. Students attending…

Perceptions of children and teachers were examined to address concerns regarding children's welfare following sociometric testing. Third-graders (N = 91) were interviewed; teachers also reported on each child's responses to the testing. Results indicate that children were not hurt or upset by the testing, most enjoyed the procedures, did not feel…

Examines the use of clinical interviews as a complement to more typical achievement tests. The research focused on the learning outcomes resulting from second grade students' viewing of television program on magnets. Results indicated that clinical interviews provided evidence of effective instruction when achievement tests did not. (ML)

A variety of adults were surveyed on alternative strategies for the State of Louisiana's minimum competency testing program. Both individual and group interviews were conducted with teachers, local school district supervisors and program administrators, parents, and state board of education members. Participants discussed what a state testing…

In 1984 the Louisiana State Superintendent of Education directed the Bureau of Evaluation to conduct a study of alternative testing strategies for the State, keeping in mind the possibility that retaining the current testing program was an alternative to be considered. The Bureau designed a study calling for the involvement of four distinct…

Although largely left out of the No Child Left Behind legislation, social studies remains a frequently tested subject on state-level standardized exams. As of 2004, 23 states conducted standards-based social studies tests, 10 of which could be considered high stakes. Where social studies will fit into the national testing picture is uncertain, but…

The majority of middle school teachers are prepared in either generalist elementary programs or subject-specific secondary programs, yet researchers and teacher educators have little understanding of the ways in which these divergent pathways prepare teachers for working at the middle school level. In this study, preservice teachers from an…

Recent research on hypothesis testing strategies (the strategy a person uses to determine the correctness of a specific hypothesis) has produced contradictory results. The three strategies available have been labeled confirmatory, neutral, and disconfirmatory. Some research has found that a confirmatory testing style predominates, while other…

This study examined the effect of three aspects of the testing context--physical privacy, anonymity, and offers of help from a tester--on children's expectations. Performance of 96 11-year-old boys and girls on a pictorial recall memory task in a simulated test was evaluated. The subjects were divided into eight different groups varying on the…

Describes interviews with four primary age children. Uses the results of the interviews to support a shift from the assessment of performance to the assessment of understanding. (PK)

Over the past few years a substantial body of research has yielded evidence that the semantic structure of elementary arithmetic word problems influences children's strategies to solve them. The study reported in this document considered three other task characteristics in addition to semantic structure: (1) the order of presentation of the two…

Application of computer technology to psychiatric outcome measurement offers the promise of coping with increasing demands for extensive patient interviews repeated longitudinally. Described is the development of a cost-effective multi-dimensional tracking device to monitor psychiatric functioning, building on a previous local computer interview…