In response to Ebel's article (TM 508 146) the author points out that, in emphasizing what a test is intended to measure, the vital question of what should be measured is set aside. While explicit specifications for a test should be encouraged, questions of worth ought to be prominent in designing and selecting tests. (Author/LC)

Test development procedures and six methods for determining cut-off scores are briefly described. An alternate method, appropriate when the test developer also determines the cut-off score, is suggested. Unlike other methods, the standard is set during the test development stage. Its computations are intelligible to nonstatistically-oriented…

The steady growth of state testing programs and its implications for the measurement community are discussed in terms of testing purposes (monitoring, accountability, and curriculum advancement) and test development, administration, and reporting. It is important that the measurement community address crucial issues to maintain its substantial…

Continuing attention to test theory, test development, test interpretation and use, test monitoring and control, test consumer education, and the social and political consequences of testing is suggested as the primary concern of the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME). (CM)

Several issues facing the measurement community were brought on by the recent emphasis on stricter educational accountability measures. These testing issues include the limits of test scores, effects of testing on instruction, proper test use, importance of the test content, and defining the basics in education. (EGS)