State assessment systems must address both technical and policy issues as assessments and accountability practices are developed and implemented. These technical and policy issues have been expanded from traditional large-scale assessment to new alternative assessment approaches required by law and developed in every state. The primary purpose of…

This book explores the practice of testing. Two postulates are assumed: that student assessment should improve performance, rather than just monitoring it, and that testing should be only a small facet of assessment. The first chapter, "Introduction: Assessment and the Morality of Testing," considers what assessment is and how it differs from…

This book is designed to help students become better test takers. It is intended for teachers, but would be helpful to parents who think that their children's test scores do not completely represent their knowledge or abilities. Test taking skills are those skills that, when used effectively, contribute to a "test-wise" individual who can use…

To ensure that educational tests do the least harm and bring the greatest good to the education of elementary and secondary school students, it is important that parents, teachers, educational administrators, and policy makers be actively involved in test construction and use. The purpose of this Statement is to provide a checklist of some…

The need to conduct assessments in languages other than English is growing rapidly. In addition to the rising number of children who do not speak English as their language at home, the number of different languages spoken by children in public schools is also increasing rapidly. Shifting demographics strongly support the need to increase the…

This manual contains a description of the procedures to be used when administering the Nevada High School Proficiency Examination in mathematics, reading, and writing. Test administrators should read and understand these instructions thoroughly before testing sessions. The parts are: (1) "General Instructions"; (2) "Instructions for…

Tests are used in hopes that disclosure of accomplishments will be made, but teachers sometimes feel they are being penalized for giving consideration to the whole child's development instead of concentrating on drill that would result in higher test scores. Standardized tests cause apprehension about control of student placement and instruction.…

In situations where there are enormous pressures to produce "good" test results, standardized testing can be a very painful experience, but there are ways of using test data to help in the educational process. California assessment data are disseminated widely to school districts in meaningful diagnostic displays. (Author/CM)

Parents have needs, rights, interests, and responsibilities to know how standardized tests are used in the schools and to call attention to inaccurate test results; to judge the quality of education reflected by tests; and to have information to understand tests to help assess their children's abilities and achievement. (Author/CM)

This article examines the program planning implications of specific advantages and disadvantages to competency testing which have been cited by lawyers and educators. Part of a theme issue on student assessment. (SJL)

This study was conducted to determine if an operational performance evaluation was valid and feasible for an area of small engine instruction. Four classes were evaluated using both a pencil-and-paper test and an operational performance test. One of the findings was that a positive relationship exists between student scores on the two tests. (LRA)

This article will argue that cost-benefit analysis persuasively demonstrates that truth-in-testing laws are socially and economically justified but often fall short of providing a comprehensive regulatory scheme adequate to correct the market dislocations generated by an unregulated testing industry. (Author)

Commonly used standardized intelligence scales are free from the inherent flaws that allegedly result in discriminatory assessment. Issues of internal validity, predictive validity, and examiner effects are discussed. (Author/JKS)

Discusses issues which "pertain to the success of children in school in answering test questions, the success of linguistic students in analyzing their answers, and generally the educational institution as a whole." Concludes that, "the main reason for reading failure in the inner cities is the cultural conflict between the educational system and…

This article discusses high-stakes testing and how special educators can incorporate accommodations, include test preparation in the curriculum (test approach skills, test taking skills, and test preparedness), prepare for test administration, and explore exam alternatives. Key legal and ethical concerns and considerations when determining…