When a child takes a standardized test measuring ability or achievement, the results of that test may well determine the kind of education he is going to get. When school personnel select certain tests, administer them, and assign students to groups according to their scores on these tests, are they doing it in such a way that the end results are…

New approaches to assessing intelligence are discussed, as well as new intelligence tests. Among the developments are investigating neurometrics, adapting testing to the effects of technology on children, countering cultural bias, assessing social intelligence, focusing on aspects of cognitive styles, measuring learning potential, and using…

This pragmatic, accessible book presents an empirically supported conceptual framework and hands-on instructions for conducting curriculum-based measurement (CBM) in grades K-8. The authors provide everything needed to evaluate student learning in reading, spelling, writing, and math; graph the resulting data; and use this information to make…

While numerous recent authors have studied the effects of school accountability systems on student test performance and school "gaming" of accountability incentives, there has been little attention paid to substantive changes in instructional policies and practices resulting from school accountability. The lack of research is primarily…

We analyze two experiments that provided direct information on school test scores to lower-income families in a public school choice plan. We find that receiving information significantly increases the fraction of parents choosing higher-performing schools. Parents with high-scoring alternatives nearby were more likely to choose non-guaranteed…

Oshima, Raju, Flowers, and Slinde (1998) described procedures for identifying sources of differential functioning for dichotomous data using differential bundle functioning (DBF) derived from the differential functioning of items and test (DFIT) framework (Raju, van der Linden, & Fleer, 1995). The purpose of this study was to extend the…

States have made tremendous progress in developing longitudinal data systems that can track student progress and answer critical policy questions. However, more work is needed, particularly on certain elements. Data on course-taking and grades (element 6), college readiness test scores (element 7), and other feedback from post-secondary…

In this chapter, the authors take a broad perspective on how to analyze issues of technology and equity for youth in the United States. They begin with "access" as a starting point, but consider not only whether diverse groups of youth have digital media available to them but also how that access is supported or constrained by…

If the foreign language teaching profession is to succeed in developing and using better and more pertinent means of evaluating student achievement (and, consequently, of measuring its own instructional effectiveness), teachers at every level must reexamine testing and evaluation procedures and those engaged in research and development must…

The Early Childhood Inventories Project (ECIP) was initiated to originate aptitude/achievement type inventories which could assess very specific behaviors of young children, particularly disadvantaged children. In practice these inventories are "non-specific" type criterion-referenced measures. This first aspect of the project involved…

The use of videotape tests is presented. Such tests enable the educator to assess student performance more directly than traditional paper and pencil tests. Test 1 was exploratory. Test 2 was designed to measure empathetic understanding. It contains 16 scenes, each about one minute long, which show five individuals in a group situation. The…

With so many unanswered questions and controversies regarding intelligence, testing in general, and testing diverse students in particular, what can educators in gifted education do to ensure that these students have access to and are represented in gifted education programs and services? In this monograph, the author examines test bias by first…

Assessing school quality can be a difficult task. This audiotape produced by the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL) was designed to help listeners make sense of the process. The audiotape takes listeners on a guided tour of a typical middle and elementary school. The tour is conducted by a group of experienced educators, who…

A study of undergraduate student attitudes toward student evaluation at the University of Melbourne, Australia, focused on purposes and form of assessment, relationship between attitudes and subject field, and between objections and poor academic performance. Findings showed students believe assessment should be more flexible and cover a larger…

A test of the concept of horizontality was devised to examine the performance of a sample of 861 Australian school children in grades 1 to 6 tested in their classrooms. (Editor)