Assessment refers to a broad array of approaches for measuring or evaluating a person's (or group of persons') skills, behaviors, dispositions, or other attributes. Assessments range from standardized tests used in admissions, employee selection, licensure examinations, and domestic and international large-scale assessments of cognitive and…

Political perspectives on the advisability of state achievement comparisons have changed substantially over the last half-century. As Selden (2004) noted regarding the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), "[w]hen it began in the 1960s, NAEP specifically was designed "not" to provide comparisons among states. This was…

Clinical findings indicated that relatively low Academic Achievement scale scores generally predicted changes of occupational planning toward business and other applied directions, whereas higher Academic Achievement scale scores were associated with changes toward more academic and scientific orientations. These regularities were modified for…

General examinations of the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) were administered in Fall 1968 to 333 students who had entered the University of Washington as freshmen in Fall 1966 and had completed 80-100 credits by Spring 1968. The tests were conducted to measure proficiency in lower division studies, particularly in the areas of natural…

This paper hypothesized an explanation for declining achievement scores in science, centering a reduction in time and emphasis devoted to cognitive activities. Analysis of data did not produce definitive results, but indicated a need for further study. (MK)

Two of the most popular methods for obtaining equal-interval scales for educational measurement are discussed: Thurstone's method and Item Response Theory (IRT). Between-grade growth on these scales is compared; while unstandardized differences show different trends for the two scales, standardized differences that take standard deviations into…

A summary of the results of language arts and mathematics achievement tests that were administered to approximately 20,000 third and sixth grade students in Department of Defense Dependent Schools, this report provides a description of the testing objectives, assessment procedures, and achievement standards for the project and offers a brief…

A critical review is presented of research conducted during the past 20 years on multiple-choice tests of achievement and aptitude. The design and use of multiple-choice tests is emphasized, but information concerning the socioeducational implications of relying on such tests is also included. (Author/CB)

One of a series of reports on the International Project for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (in Mathematics).

Testing and assessment have become extremely important components of the educational program. The purpose of this position paper is to provide factual and policy-related information that may be of use to school boards as they design or improve their districts' testing and assessment policies. It is the New York State policy that school boards…

This study examined the effects of two variations of the Student Teams Achievement Divisions (STAD) on university students. STAD is a system of cooperative learning which features small heterogeneous teams of 4-6 members who tutor each other on the material in the course and prepare each other for weekly quizzes. Students take the quizzes…

Intelligence tests, particularly the Stanford-Binet, have been much abused and unintelligently misused. If the results of such testing are used for the purpose for which they were designed and are interpreted carefully and accurately, then the results can be used to indicate what kind of teaching methods should be utilized; what kind of cognitive…

Results of three studies based on Stanford Achievement Test data collected during the National Achievement Testing Program for Hearing Impaired Students in Spring, 1971 are reported. Compared in the first study are performance patterns of hearing impaired students on the Intermediate I and Advanced batteries with patterns of hearing…

Gains of students in compensatory education programs are contrasted using fall-to-spring gains as opposed to fall-to-fall gains. Results indicate substantial loss for compensatory education students over the summer. Using fall-to-fall scores is recommended. (JKS)