The program for gifted and talented students in the Austin Independent School District consists of 126 programs in grades K-12 to develop skills and abilities in academic subjects, music, art, problem-solving, and coping with giftedness. The program has been in effect since 1975. The focus of the evaluation in 1981-82 is the identification of…

The question of whether performance measures may be more accurate than examination methods to assess an individual's abilities and knowledge is examined, based on a literature review. An information processing view that focuses on the internal activities of thinking and the relationship to external stimuli is considered. Information processing…

A theoretical framework is presented to investigate the interactions of certain motivational factors with test-wiseness. Test performance is a function of two independent elements: the cognitive learning in the classroom situation and the test-wiseness in the testing situation. These situations are associated with independent sets of affective…

This study matched teacher and professor perspectives of preservice educational measurement courses. Twenty-eight professors from different colleges in seven states and 377 teachers from elementary and secondary schools in one midwestern state responded via mailed questionnaire in which: professors were asked to assess the emphasis they give to…

The performance of two groups of adult students on the General Educational Development (GED) test was compared to determine whether there was a relationship between the level of student performance on a timed versus non-timed GED test. Each group consisted of the first three hundred students who took the test at twenty-six different testing…

This guide to evaluation of home economics instruction covers five major topic areas: (1) Purposes for evaluating pupil learning; (2) steps to take in developing the needed evaluation techniques; (3) suggested means to achieving purposes related to evaluation; (4) tips on improving evaluative practices, and (5) notes on enlisting student help in…

The purposes of this study were to (1) describe the performance of Louisiana's prospective teachers on the Common Examinations of the National Teacher Examinations (NTE) in relation to national averages, and (2) determine strengths and weaknesses in the test performance of Louisiana's prospective teachers. Prospective teachers in Louisiana were…

A three-year research project aims to describe and analyze how school district management of educational testing and evaluation can better link these activities to instructional improvement, according to this first annual report. After chronicling the first year's activities, the authors discuss their use of case studies, interviews, and…

The computer management system described, which administers tests and provides feedback to examinees, as well as progress summaries to instructional personnel, has been implemented at Florida State University. Located in the Assessment Resource Center (ARC), it has been used to manage the instruction of several thousand students enrolled in…

The educational accountability movement is changing the teacher's role in curriculum development from that of autonomous decision maker to agent of public school policy makers. To assess teacher reactions to factors influencing their autonomy, 75 teachers were exposed to pressures to change the content of fourth grade mathematics instruction in a…

A review is presented of the results of testing college students' health knowledge from the years 1930 to 1977. Topics covered by the tests are outlined and analyzed. Results indicate that over a period of years college students have become more knowledgeable about facts pertaining to physical and mental health. (JD)

Test evaluation summaries completed by the Center for the Study of Evaluation in 1970 and 1976 were used to determine changes in test quantity and quality among elementary-level standardized instruments. In the earlier studies, the instruments were rated in four general areas: measurement validity, examinee appropriateness, administrative…

This guide explains the concept of out-of-level testing and suggests a formula for estimating the occurrence of floor effects and ceiling effects, within the context of models for evaluating Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I programs. An analogy explains floor and ceiling effects as if test items are stored in different levels in a…

Appellants, citizens, and taxpayers of Ohio brought this action challenging the constitutionality of certain provisions of the Ohio Revised Code authorizing various forms of aid to nonpublic schools, most of which are sectarian. The Ohio scheme authorizes funding for use of nonpublic school children within the district where the nonpublic school…

Subjects for this study were female participants in a mathematics anxiety treatment program at a midwestern university. A series of test instruments were administered. Statistical analysis indicates that for this female sample, the domain of mathematics anxiety is best described as primarily test anxiety and only secondarily as anxiety associated…