Throughout the years, career and technical education (CTE) has focused on teaching technical competencies and related academic skills that prepare students to enter and advance in a variety of career fields and postsecondary education. Program and course descriptions are reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that the technical and academic skills…

The "Student Assessment Inventory for School Districts" supports a process to evaluate the assessments students currently take and then determine the minimum testing necessary to serve essential diagnostic, instructional and accountability purposes. The process should also lead to actions that ensure that every district-mandated…

The "Student Assessment Inventory for School Districts" supports using a student-centered process to evaluate the assessments students currently take and then determine the minimum testing necessary to serve essential diagnostic, instructional and accountability purposes. The process should also lead to actions that ensure that every…

The "Student Assessment Inventory for School Districts" supports a process to evaluate the assessments students currently take and then determine the minimum testing necessary to serve essential diagnostic, instructional and accountability purposes. The process should also lead to actions that ensure that every district-mandated…

Across the country, educators, parents and students are saying that there is too much testing in our schools and that testing is taking valuable time away from teaching and learning. These concerns are legitimate and merit attention. School district officials have the opportunity to respond to concerns about over-testing by leading a conversation…

"Student Assessment Inventory for School Districts" (see ED603651) is a tool district leaders can use to take stock of their assessments and assessment strategy and do so from a student perspective. Achieve developed the "Student Assessment" to support a process by which districts evaluate the assessments students are taking;…

The paper presents one strategy for sequencing the task assessment of severely handicapped individuals to facilitate more precise and concise assessment. The proposed sequence includes the following steps: (1) clarifying the purpose for testing, (2) collecting background information to increase the possibility of obtaining more accurate and…

This handbook is designed as a quick reference for first-year teachers who find themselves in an assessment driven environment with little experience to help make sense of the language, underlying philosophy, or organizational structure of the assessment system. The handbook begins with advice on developing and evaluating effective learning…

Confusion is cited regarding the meaning and nature of central auditory dysfunction, and types of tests composing a central auditory test battery are described. Tests focus on auditory closure, auditory figure-ground, and dichotic listening. (CL)

Administrators at Edina-West Secondary School in Edina (Minnesota) are making the curriculum more specific through an integrated in-service evaluation plan. (Author/MLF)

Practical advice on frequently asked questions dealing with research and evaluation methodology is presented as rules of thumb, with citations to the author's sources. A statement in the literature is considered a rule of thumb if it meets one of the following criteria: (1) it is specifically called a rule of thumb; (2) it contains numbers in…

The author describes an evaluation of persons with suspected learning disabilities. Two types of tests are considered (mental maturity and basic language skills) and examples of each are given. Sample profiles exhibiting irregular development of aptitudes are provided and observations from informal as well as formal assessment are suggested. (CL)

The authors provide information about test construction and testing practices in order to help parents and teachers to ask important and critical questions about them. Issues pertinent to the appropriate selection, use, and interpretation of tests are presented. (Author/CL)

The fact sheet focuses on considerations when testing adaptations are needed, provides some facts about disability, and identifies a variety of adaptations of testing procedures which have been developed and successfully used in schools, vocational training programs, and on college campuses. Testing adaptations are discussed in terms of disability…

The manual describes seven tools for use in screening and assessing the developmentally disabled infant and young child in the home. Instruments are said to have met four criteria (easy adaptation to the home setting, minimum training required to administer, speed of administration, and minimum equipment needed). Five categories of information are…