This review summarizes the major criticisms of standardized tests and testing and attempts an evaluation of the validity of the criticisms. Viewed in the context of type of test, manner of its use, and assumptions regarding its validity, the paper discusses: (1) the imperfect-prediction problem, where predictions of performance are invalidated by…

This is a selected compilation of 47 items relating to criticisms of tests and testing. The items cover the period of ten years immediately preceding the year 1966 and are held to be scholarly writings almost without exception. The books and articles listed carry extensive annotations and focus on the following aspects of tests and testing:…

Summarizes some of the findings of recent study of tests designed to determine the English language proficiency of nonnative speakers. (CFM)

Discrepancies between court and professional association views of licensing examinations are discussed. Litigation associated with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and constitutional law is considered. Courts should examine professional standards and apply those that are consistent with the court's determination of the proper…

Author looks into the workings of the Oxford and Cambridge Schools Examination Board. (Editor/RK)

This 126-item test, the Learning Style Profile, was designed to assess 23 scales involving learners' cognitive skills, as well as emotional and environmental study preferences such as noise and temperature. It contains both verbal and pictorial items. The test was designed for sixth- through twelfth-grade students and has a readability level…

Discusses the criterion referenced test and focuses on such questions as What is it? What are the advantages to be gained from a performance-based curriculum and criterion reference evaluation procedures? What are the disadvantages? The Science - A Process Approach program is identified as the most complete and tested example of the use of…

This booklet addresses the role of testing in today's public education system, and presents a series of questions and answers which will be of particular interest to school board members, legislators, lawyers and journalists. These questions are grouped into two major categories: (1) test purposes and users; and (2) current testing issues. Current…

The Olympia, Washington, Public Schools report a workshop held to design a program for collecting and organizing information on the total student growth necessary for developing a curriculum for individualized instruction. In addition to student records, information was needed on (1) learning styles, (2) interest areas, (3) physical development…

The report describes a new kind of psychological testing machine, the Logical Analysis Device (LAD), and the attempts to use it for predicting academic grades of 97 freshmen engineering students at The Cooper Union in 1958, 77 of whom were re-tested in 1962. The LAD system allows a subject to proceed in his own way and at his own pace to solve…

Test performance statistics and subsequent academic achievement data for Los Angeles City College (LACC), California, students entering in the fall of 1969 are reported in this study. The test performance statistics provide a relative comparison between achievement on the School and College Ability Test (SCAT), the Form 1A Reading Comprehension:…

The study was designed to answer two questions: (1) What cognitive skills are emphasized by written test items constructed by eighth grade science teachers in the public schools of Louisiana? and (2) Are there differences of emphasis on the cognitive skills when comparisons are made among test questions from those teachers based on the following…

This paper presents guidelines for valid and effective test preparation and presentation. Working on the assumption that teacher secrecy about tests and the subsequent student test-fear are pointless and harmful, this paper outlines some tools for test preparation, such as pretests, teacher file cards as to items covered in class and clearly…