Selection decisions have a major impact on our education, occupation, and quality of life, and the role of standardized tests in selection has always been a source of controversy. Here, I consider various definitions of fairness in measurement and selection--those emerging from within educational measurement and statistics, those from philosophy,…

Students who are deaf or hard of hearing (SDHH) often use test accommodations when they participate in large-scale, standardized assessments. The purpose of this article is to present findings from the "Third Annual Survey of Assessment and Accommodations for Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing". The "big five" accommodations were reported by…

In the current No Child Left Behind era, K-12 teachers and principals are expected to have a sophisticated understanding of standardized test results, use them to improve instruction, and communicate them to others. The goal of our project, funded by the National Science Foundation, was to develop and evaluate three Web-based instructional modules…

Highlights some of the major questions facing the measurement community in deciding how to conceptualize validity in the revised "Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing" of the American Association for Educational Research, the American Psychological Association, and the National Council on Measurement in Education. Focuses…

The Bookmark method for setting standards on educational tests is currently one of the most popular standard-setting methods. However, research to support the method is scarce. In this report, we review the published and unpublished literature on this method as well as some seminal work in the area of evaluating standard-setting studies. Our…

Discusses the direction large-scale educational testing is heading, pointing out pitfalls in current and future use of such tests. The large-scale assessment community seems to be unconcerned about the central mission of education, the instruction of children. (SLD)

The implications of "A Nation at Risk" for the field of measurement are examined. These are a need for more frequent and varied tests; responsibility for eliminating measurement problems; and a resurgence of standardized testing at the high school level. The need for measures of teaching quality will increase. (DWH)

A study was conducted of the public's interest in standardized student testing by reviewing the test-related sections of about 70 polls and surveys of public opinion. In general, the public favors more testing with higher stakes, perhaps because they consider testing in the context of real alternatives and find it best. (SLD)

This reaction paper stresses the importance of matching the qualitatively different types of educational decisions with appropriate types of tests. Reading instruction is used to illustrate that while standardized tests are helpful for student classification and program accountability, they are hazardous to instructional process decisions which…

Possible future practices in testing are discussed, with a critique of current educational measurement. As standardized achievement tests are used for wide-ranging purposes, there will be increasing reliance on item response theory and national item banks. A national system of monitoring development and use of tests will probably emerge. (SLD)

Development of educational testing in Hungary is reviewed regarding recent political and social changes. Relatively few areas in the educational system use tests regularly. The current political climate is expected to bring new standardized tests. A national core curriculum is planned with more autonomy for local-level and school-level decisions.…