This report investigates whether the time between scoring sessions has an influence on operational and nonoperational scoring accuracy. The study evaluates raters' scoring accuracy on constructed-response essay responses for the "GRE"® General Test. Binomial linear mixed-effect models are presented that evaluate how the effect of various…

Have you ever sat through an observation and wondered what in the world you could do to improve the instruction taking place? I have. Sometimes it's because the teacher is so polished that I have difficulty identifying any shortcomings. But sometimes it's because there are so many things wrong with the lesson that I have no idea where I should…

Describes experience of Bates College with optional testing, summarizing results of optional Scholastic Aptitude Tests over five years and presenting snapshot of totally optional testing over one year. Discusses enrollment, predictive, and ethical implications of an optional testing policy. Concludes with some brief speculations on definitions of…

Presents a brief comparison of three countries (Wales and England, France, Germany) and their examination systems for college-bound students. Portions of examinations are provided as well as country profiles that describe the role the exam plays in that country's educational system. The report is excerpted from a larger work involving a…

Students Against Testing, a Brown University student group that seeks to either abolish or reform the Scholastic Aptitude Test is discussed. As a result of a letter-writing drive, students on at least 50 campuses are seriously considering starting similar efforts next fall. (MLW)

Technology education in Korea faces such obstacles as uncertainty about its meaning and scope, lack of public understanding, poorly qualified teachers, large class size, and the pressures imposed by national college entrance exams. (SK)

This paper is an overview of some points made at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association in April of 1987. Gender effects were computed on 82 nationally standardized tests designed to determine precocity among youth. The effect sizes ranged from a magnitude of 0.50 (favoring females) for spelling in grade 12 on the…

Examines major issues in the debate over Crouse's research and recommendations concerning the (SAT) Scholastic Aptitude Test's incremental value in admissions; the nature of the admissions process; other benefits to colleges of the SAT; its possible benefits for college applicants; and the use of college admissions tests as interventions for…

Discusses different emphases placed by institutions of higher education on a range of admissions criteria including academic performance, evidence of graduation, letters of recommendation, personal essays, and interviews. Concludes that standardized tests are not the pervasive barrier to higher education in the United States that many test critics…

While most states require standardized teacher certification tests and many require testing to enter teacher training, there is little consensus on the skill level needed for teaching or the tests' validity. Concern about high minority group failure rates has also slowed implementation of testing requirements in some states. (MSE)

Describes the Advanced Placement U.S. history program which allows students to earn college credit by taking a standardized test while still in high school. Reviews procedures for selection of multiple choice questions on this test from 1960-1984. States that multiple choice type questions on this test have changed since 1960, but not…

While minority groups achieved higher scores on standardized college admissions tests, overall the average scores changed little. Both major testing services reported administering more scores than last year, suggesting a possible increase in college enrollments. These results have been both praised and criticized. (MSE)

Information regarding tests and requirements at entrance into teacher education programs, at initial certification, and as a teacher are presented on a state-by-state basis. (Author/MT)

A proposal to institute "a common test in the academic competencies" of English and mathematics as an admission requirement for all Nova Scotian universities was announced by the Royal Commission on Post-Secondary Education in 1985. The commission viewed writing proficiency as an innate ability, independent of learning, environment,…

Describes how exclusive reliance on traditional achievement measures as indices of intellectual potential, and the ensuing competition among nursing schools for the most academically able students, has created a caste system that has left the task of educating the "less able" to Black collegiate institutions. (Author/GC)