Many states have adopted minimal competency testing in reading or writing, assuming that goals of basic education are measurable and that testing for such goals is technologically feasible. It is not clear that such testing comes at a time in history when the quality of education is demonstrably lower than at other times in American education. The…

In most colleges and universities, the task of assigning students to basic or remedial writing courses is handled the same way--students are tested during a summer orientation program by a combination objective and essay examination or during the first few days of the term by a composition instructor. Whereas the intentions of the testing are…

An apparent discrepancy between building level scores in basic skills produced by Pennsylvania's state assessment program (EQA) and building summary scores, generally a grade equivalent, provided by commercial standardized achievement tests is investigated. The impetus for the study came from occasional reports by school administrators that their…

Addressing the issue of testing and evaluation in English at the university level, this paper focuses on the development and use of the English Placement Test developed by the California State University system. The discussion of this testing program is placed within a framework of four testing principles: testing is an essential part of learning…

A study investigated the problem of systematic oversights by students taking language passage correction (PC) tests. In these tests, students are asked to correct errors inserted in written prose passages. When errors are not overtly marked, students often overlook them. This study examined patterns of oversight in two PC tests used to evaluate…

If English teachers are an endangered species, as is sometimes said, they must attempt to survive by adapting to a changing environment and explaining their work to the public. Community college teachers should teach critical reading skills by starting with materials relevant to students' lives, should teach writing by stressing conceptual skills…