This handbook describes the responsibilities of district and school assessment coordinators in the administration of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA). This updated guidebook contains the following sections: (1) General Assessment Guidelines for All Assessments; (2) Writing Specific Guidelines; (3) Reading and Mathematics…

The innovators of a functional level testing program must make decisions in the context of situational factors. There are several decision points involving the important elements of a testing program. Establishing the need for functional level testing is the first decision to be made. A systematic examination of in-level test data will document…

This handbook, intended for General Educational Development Test (GED) examiners, was designed to cover many of the issues and problems unique to the GED testing program in California. Six chapters are included: (1) testing center authorization and responsibilities; (2) testing center staff; (3) testing fees and materials; (4) test administration;…

This procedures manual for the North Carolina Test Development Program details the tasks involved in test development. The basic steps are described in an introductory section; they are (1) to specify the institutional objectives of the curriculum and ensure their instructional validity; and (2) to specify the characteristics, such as the purpose…

To meet the needs of visually-impaired candidates, Educational Testing Service (ETS) has traditionally provided tests in three special formats: large-print, Braille, and cassette. Certain ETS programs permit the use of the candidate's reader or the use of amanuensis, that is, someone who records answers for the candidate. The primary goal of…

The Portland (OR) School District has a long-standing tradition of local achievement test development. Portland prefers to use scores and reporting procedures which capitalize on the advantages of "equal interval" which can be analyzed statistically by all procedures available. Portland testing programs serve a number of purposes: (1)…

Discussed are the need for standardized tests and the changes that will be needed for their proper implementation. The use of calculators on tests is advocated. Computer and calculator delivered examinations are also discussed. (KR)

The Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills (TEAMS) Exit Level Writing Test is based on eight behavioral objectives that fall under five skill areas. Satisfactory performance on this test is required for high school graduation in Texas. This document, intended for teachers and test developers, presents general testing instructions and…

Practical and technical advice is provided for staff responsible for planning evaluations of Educational Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA) Chapter 1 migrant programs at the state level. The report is limited to evaluating achievement gains in basic skills; this is, however, acknowledged as only one facet of a comprehensive migrant program…

The reading learning objectives for fifth graders contained in this volume are congruent with the Texas "State Board of Education Rules for Curriculum." These objectives and the measurement specifications are provided for use by teachers and other educators responsible for student instruction and for test development specialists involved…

The Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills (TEAMS) Exit Level Reading Test is based on ten behavioral objectives that fall under six skill areas. Satisfactory performance on this test is required for high school graduation in Texas. This document, intended for teachers and test developers, presents general testing instructions and…

The reading learning objectives for ninth graders contained in this volume are congruent with the Texas "State Board of Education Rules for Curriculum." These objectives and the measurement specifications are provided for use by teachers and other educators responsible for student instruction and for test development specialists involved…

This document is the users' guide for Version 3.1 of the Public-Use data tapes compiled by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 1983-84. The Public-Use tapes are produced to allow outside researchers access to the NAEP data. The tapes accompanying this guide contain data assessing student achievement in reading and writing at…

The writing learning objectives for fifth graders contained in this volume are congruent with the Texas "State Board of Education Rules for Curriculum." These objectives and the measurement specifications are provided for use by teachers and other educators responsible for student instruction and for test development specialists involved…

The writing learning objectives for ninth graders contained in this volume are congruent with the Texas "State Board of Education Rules for Curriculum." These objectives and the measurement specifications are provided for use by teachers and other educators responsible for student instruction and for test development specialists involved…