Items on test score scales located at and below the Proficient cut score define the content area knowledge and skills required to achieve proficiency. Alternately, examinees who perform at the Proficient level on a test can be expected to be able to demonstrate that they have mastered most of the knowledge and skills represented by the items at…

Large data sets from a state reading assessment for third and fifth graders were analyzed to examine differential item functioning (DIF), differential distractor functioning (DDF), and differential omission frequency (DOF) between students with particular categories of disabilities (speech/language impairments, learning disabilities, and emotional…

As more colleges move to "test optional" admissions policies, the debate over the utility and interpretation of standardized-test scores continues. In this article, the author interviews Daniel Koretz, a professor of education at Harvard University and author of "Measuring Up: What Educational Testing Really Tells Us". Koretz…

Background/Context: In response to state-level test-based accountability and the federal No Child Left Behind Act, school administrators increasingly view centralized curriculum and prescribed instructional strategies as the most direct means of increasing student performance. This movement toward standardization reduces teachers' autonomy and…

Describes New Jersey's coordinated, statewide higher education effort involving mandatory testing, remediation, and evaluation. Reviews the program's history; the role of the New Jersey Basic Skills Council (NJBSC); the Basic Skills Placement Test, which focuses on reading comprehension, sentence sense, math computation, and elementary algebra;…

Outlines progressive stages of the "Special Studies" developmental education program in the University of Georgia system. Illustrates the process by which prospective freshmen are identified as developmental students, placed in appropriate courses, and advanced to regular college credit classes. (DR)

Reviews the possible dangers of mandated competency testing and suggests some alternatives. (JM)

"Test Scoring" provides insight into psychometric procedures as used by a professional testing company or in large-scale projects. The book contains an overview of standard test theory, a discussion of factor analytic theory, and an exploration of special applications and problems. (SLD)

The relationships between ratings on the Idaho Alternate Assessment (IAA) for 116 students with significant disabilities and corresponding ratings for the same students on two norm-referenced teacher rating scales were examined to gain evidence about the validity of resulting IAA scores. To contextualize these findings, another group of 54…

In situations where there are enormous pressures to produce "good" test results, standardized testing can be a very painful experience, but there are ways of using test data to help in the educational process. California assessment data are disseminated widely to school districts in meaningful diagnostic displays. (Author/CM)

Describes the cash award system Indiana developed to reward schools for relative improvement in language arts proficiency, mathematics proficiency, overall achievement performance, and attendance. The article looks at problems with the program, how the program was implemented, how money was used, and positive and negative rhetoric. (SM)

The British Columbia Learning Assessment Program is a province-wide program designed to aid in decision-making processes about curriculum revisions; preservice teacher education and in-service programs; resource allocations; and future research needs; and to inform various publics of educational attainment. The article provides an overview of the…

Summarizes interviews with 60 Indiana superintendents and principals concerning the effects of statewide student achievement testing on the operation of schools or school systems. It describes side effects from the testing, noting they are so numerous and severe they may be worse than the problems they are supposed to cure. (SM)

Asserts that assessment has become a leading national educational issue. Presents a chronology of events in California related to student assessment reform. Identifies the California Learning Assessment System (CLAS) three key elements: (1) individual student scores; (2) performance testing; and (3) curriculum improvement. (CFR)

Heightened demand for testing is seen as a function of public skepticism regarding the quality of public education. Discusses developments and trends in the following areas: (1) minimum competency testing versus higher order skills testing; (2) kindergarten and first grade readiness testing; (3) portfolio-based assessment; and (4) teacher…