This study examined the cross-lingual equating process adopted by a large scale testing system in which target language (TL) forms are equated to the source language (SL) forms using a set of translated items. The focus was on evaluating the degree of error inherent in the routine cross-lingual equating of the Verbal Reasoning subtest of the…

In the context of controversy over the use of high stakes testing, the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) asked for an evaluation of the performance levels and cut score of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) mathematics and reading tests. While awaiting technical documentation from the Pennsylvania Department of…

This study modeled school and district effects in the mathematics scores of the Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP) using hierarchical linear modeling. Three-level hierarchical models were fitted to estimate school and district effects in the DSTP mathematics scores and to examine the school and district variance with variables assessing…

Test publishers have promoted their commercially available, norm-referenced achievement tests as viable solutions to assessment challenges faced by states. They argue that their tests are developed professionally, and, therefore, possess sound psychometric properties not often found in state-specific efforts. This study compared judgments from two…

A study was conducted in England in 1997 to consider materials that were available to support students making a transition from compulsory education to the study of mathematics in noncompulsory post-16 education. This report on the study also contains an outline of the basic structures of the English education system and its assessment provisions.…

The effect of rapid feedback for a state writing assessment on subsequent writing performance was investigated. In addition, the agreement between teachers' scores for the state writing assessment and state department scores was analyzed. Eighth grade English teachers (n=8) were trained in analytic trait scoring of writing assessments. They then…

Studied longitudinal changes in performance at both the student and school district level in major content areas of a widely used norm-referenced grade-level testing program. Used data from grades 3 to 4 and from 7 to 8 of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (in Iowa). Reports descriptive statistics and empirical norms and reliability estimates for…

Compares examination practices at the end of secondary schooling in England, Federal Republic of Germany, France, Japan, People's Republic of China, Sweden, Soviet Union, and the United States. Considers the present status of these national examination systems, their alteration by social and educational changes, and their shaping of educational…

This article contains summaries of reports from international research correspondents (IRCs) as part of the continued effort to make the International Reports on Literacy Research, a regular feature of "Reading Research Quarterly," more representative of the field of literacy education. With an eye toward encouraging the IRCs to report…

This annual statistical report profiles General Educational Development (GED) Test takers in 1995. At the beginning of the report are the following: an introduction to the GED testing service, the Center for Adult Learning and Educational Credentials, and the American Council on Education; a description of how the data were gathered; suggestions…

In 1990, the state of Kentucky created a new school system through the Kentucky Educational Reform Act (KERA). While KERA mandates wide-ranging progressive reform, testing through the Kentucky Instructional Results Information System (KIRIS) makes sure teachers get the job done. Though all Kentucky teachers are involved in writing, those at the…

This report cumulates the results of 515 validation studies carried out over a 45-year period by the United States Employment Service, and relates these findings to five systems of job classification and job analysis. Correction for sampling error shows that general cognitive, perceptual, and psychomotor ability are valid predictors of job…

A procedure used to average several Mantel-Haenszel delta difference values for an item is described and evaluated. The differential item functioning (DIF) procedure used by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) is based on the Mantel-Haenszel statistical technique for studying matched groups. It is standard procedure at ETS to analyze test items…

Two types of information on the outcomes of education in New York State for the 1983-84 school year are presented. One relates to New York State tests and programs. The second is a by-product of national programs that identify outstanding pupils. During the 1983-84 school year, elementary and secondary school students demonstrated high achievement…

A study was conducted to assess the role of developmental work in preparing Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC) students for the College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST). The study sample included all 808 MDCC students who took the CLAST in fall 1984 and had taken the Comparative Guidance and Placement Test (CGP) upon entering the college. Study…