"Assessing Learning in the Primary Classroom" is an accessible introduction to the concepts critical to a professional understanding of this vital aspect of a teacher's role. It comprehensively considers the principles underpinning effective assessment, the different forms it can take and the different purposes it serves, both within and beyond…

Diagnostic judgments are often based on the comparison of two measures in order to judge whether the individual shows a genuine discrepancy in the traits or characteristics that the two measures represent. Until a perfect psychometric battery comes along, psychometricians can offer some guidance on the level of confidence to be placed in…

Two types of quantitative Rorschach scales are discussed: first, those based on the response categories of content, location, and the determinants, and second, global scales based on the subject's responses to all ten stimulus cards. (Author/JKS)

Responding to critics of testing, the author presents an argument in its favor--that testing is one of the ways in which a teacher may gather information necessary for student monitoring and instructional decision-making. (SJL)

Examines differences between policymakers' assumptions about standardized testing and the ways 36 teachers prepare students for and administer tests in 2 urban school districts. Concludes that standardized tests may be poor measures of instructional improvements in connection with the regular curriculum. (FMW)

A summary of the results of language arts and mathematics achievement tests that were administered to approximately 20,000 third and sixth grade students in Department of Defense Dependent Schools, this report provides a description of the testing objectives, assessment procedures, and achievement standards for the project and offers a brief…

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the assessment of intelligence as it relates to reading. Its primary focus is upon criteria that might be applied to the information about intelligence and how it relates to reading. The contents include: "General Considerations," which discusses the concept of intelligence, measuring instruments…

The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) Spelling Test is designed to measure levels of achievement in spelling and comprises Test Cards, Answer Sheets, Class Analysis Charts and Handbook. The test itself is divided into four parts, one part for each of years 3 through 6 with each part consisting of 50 words. Directions for…

This report on the Career Awareness for Secondary and Elementary Students (CASES) project describes the purpose and need for the testing instrument and the research and development stages of its preparation, and offers an analysis of findings. The test results are presented diagrammatically and discussed. Conclusions reached included: (1) the…

A standardized achievement testing program was begun in Alum Rock, California in the fall of 1972 as part of an evaluation of an Educational Voucher Demonstration. During each of the first three years of the demonstration both the form of test administration and the particular level of the standardized achievement test that a student is assigned…

A discussion is presented which includes the following topics: purposes of testing, planning your test, instructional objectives, testing understanding, testing computation, testing applications and problem solving, evaluation and diagnosis, marking, and communicating with parents. (MK)

Argues that teachers should be encouraged to use not just pencil-and-paper tests but also observations, interviews, and even students' journals to gather information on which to base their evaluations. (PK)

The Decoding Skills Test (DST) was developed to provide a detailed measurement of decoding skills which could be used in research on developmental dyslexia. Another purpose of the test is to provide a diagnostic-prescriptive instrument to be used in the evaluation of, and program planning for, children needing remedial reading. The test is…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of intelligence test results communicated to teachers in various ways by elementary school counselors on (a) teachers' perceptions, and (b) subsequent student achievement and IQ scores. Teacher awareness of student IQ appeared not to influence, to a statistically significant degree, her…