An important issue in educational and employment settings is the degree to which evidence of validity obtained in one situation can be generalized to another situation without further study of validity in the new situation. Theory, procedures, and applications concerning validity generalization are addressed. Meta-analytic techniques make possible…

The "Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing" of the American Educational Research Association, the American Psychological Association, and the National Council on Measurement in Education are intended to provide a comprehensive basis for evaluating tests. This digest identifies key standards applicable to most test…

This Digest overviews legal challenges in five areas of test use for decision-making in schools: ability tracking, placement in special education classes, test scores as college admissions criteria, test disclosure, and teacher competency testing. Cases illustrating these challenges are described and include: Hobson v. Hansen (1967), Moses v.…

The nature of neuropsychological assessment and its application in the school environment are discussed. Neuropsychology is the study of how the brain and nervous system affect thinking and behavior. A complete neuropsychological assessment requires gathering and analyzing information on a child's: (1) physical, social, and psychological…

Based on material prepared for the California Assessment Program, an argument in favor of authentic assessment is presented, and authentic assessment is contrasted with traditional standardized tests. An assessment is authentic when student performance on intellectual tasks is directly examined. Comparatively, traditional assessment relies on…

The concept of developmental appropriateness can be applied to the assessment of young children. Clarifying the main purpose for which children are assessed can help determine what kinds of assessments would be most appropriate. Assessment of individual children might serve one of the following purposes: (1) to determine progress on significant…

In December 1991, the South Carolina Supreme Court ordered the State Board of Education to stop using the Education Entrance Examination (EEE) for licensing parents who want to teach their children at home. In ruling that the test's validation process did not meet a standard of reasonableness, the Court established a significant precedent for test…

This digest focuses on academic testing and American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students. Ideally, test results should be used to improve student learning. Proponents of high-stakes testing say it is needed to measure student achievement and school quality and to hold students and teachers accountable. High-stakes testing is also used to…