THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERISTICS OF 262 DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING STUDENTS (GRADES 7 TO 9) IN THE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE PRESENTED IN TABLE FORM--(1) THE TEST USED TO SECURE AN INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENT AND THE NUMBER OF PUPILS TESTED, (2) THE YEAR THE IQ TEST WAS GIVEN AND THE NUMBER OF PUPILS TESTED, (3) ACHIEVEMENT TESTS USED AND THE NUMBER OF…

To carry out this study, personal interviews were conducted with licensing personnel in the geographically diverse states of New York, California, Florida, Illinois, and Texas. The nonprofessional occupations (those requiring not more than two years of post-high school training) examined for licensing requirements in at least one of the five…

This document provides an overview of the history and current uses of student testing in California and a brief summary of some of the issues on the debate over assessment. In recent years, student testing has increasingly become a high-stakes enterprise in California. Today, policymakers are looking anew at various forms of testing to measure how…

AS THE RESULT OF A CALIFORNIA LEGISLATIVE MANDATE FOR A COMPREHENSIVE LANGUAGE PROGRAM BEGINNING AT THE SIXTH GRADE LEVEL, WEST HIGH SCHOOL SET UP A TWO-FOLD LANGUAGE ACHIEVEMENT TEST TO ACCURATELY PLACE QUALIFIED STUDENTS IN ADVANCED COURSES AND TO GET A GENERAL IDEA OF THE LEVEL OF ACHIEVEMENT OF INCOMING STUDENTS WITH VARIOUS DEGREES OF…

This document describes the holdings of the Test Center of the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory as of April 1994 in the area of assessment alternatives in social studies. The bibliography lists 45 entries about such subjects as portfolio assessment, diploma examinations, performance criteria, performance assessment models, integrating…

An amendment to the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) mandated an assessment of the basic skills of all Summer Youth Employment and Training (SYET) Program enrollees. Many agencies in California used the Employability Competency System Appraisal Test to assess 1987 SYET participants' basic reading and math skills. Between June and October 1987,…

An assessment was conducted in 1983 of the skills, knowledge, attitudes, and experiences of California sixth and twelfth grade students in the area of computer technology. Cognitive test questions were written to conform to a set of objectives used in the Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS) curriculum; attitude questions were obtained…

Describing the initial implementation period (April 1--June 30, 1975) of the Covelo Indian Community's Career Development Program, this report presents: (1) the Director's Report which deals with implementation delays, revised time frames, contracts for personnel, the new site, the board of directors, record keeping, testing instruments, charts,…

Conflicting policy decisions, scaling difficulties, teacher resistance, and mediocre results are slowing adoption of authentic student-evaluation measures. With more conservative state leadership, California and Arizona rejected performance assessment, and other states have followed. Despite various setbacks, new assessments are becoming the norm.…

The author, an executive director of Assessment and Accountability for the Poway Unified School District, relates how their school district implemented an assessment program with practical applications to teaching and learning. Rather than being yet another burden on teachers or a local report card on schools, the district's goal was to define…

The advantages of computerized adaptive testing are discussed, and an example illustrates its use in sixth grade mathematics. These tests are administered at a computer terminal, and the test items to be administered are selected according to the difficulty level appropriate to the individual's ability. Tailoring increases the psychometric…

This document is designed to help the reader understand the district profiles of the California statewide testing program. These data assist the reader to compare a districts' performance with that of previous years and of other districts, especially those with similar characteristics. A brief description of the development and content of the…

Addressing the issue of testing and evaluation in English at the university level, this paper focuses on the development and use of the English Placement Test developed by the California State University system. The discussion of this testing program is placed within a framework of four testing principles: testing is an essential part of learning…

"Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Adding Value to Student Assessment: Does "Value-Added Assessment" Live Up to Its Name? (Anand Vaishnav); (2) No Adolescent Left Behind?…

Using examples from California, the author analyzes the increasing trend for states to assume a guiding or dominant role over local school districts in important aspects of American education. He considers the main reasons for this trend to be public concern over academic standards and the increasing cost of education. (Editor/SJL)