This guide is designed to assist States, agencies, and/or facilities who work with youth who are neglected, delinquent, or at-risk (N or D). The information in the guide will benefit those who are (a) interested in implementing pre-posttests, (b) in the process of identifying an appropriate pre-posttest, or (c) ready to evaluate current testing…

This report describes the purposes of benchmark assessments and provides recommendations for selecting and using benchmark assessments--addressing validity, alignment, reliability, fairness and bias and accessibility, instructional sensitivity, utility, and reporting issues. We also present recommendations on building capacity to support schools'…

Assessment instruments should be selected on the basis of test design variables (such as date of development and content sequence), test construction variables (including standardization results), examinee-related variables (such as prerequisite skills and vocabulary level), examiner-related variables (including preparation and skills), and…

Each potential user must take the final responsibility for deciding whether a test can deliver what it promises in the situation in which it is to be used. A review procedure involves reading and evaluating research, studying technical manuals, taking the test, and communicating with others involved with the test. (Author/CM)

Notes that interest in attachment theory among counselors and researchers has led to development of measures of attachment-related constructs. Presents overview of theoretical foundations of attachment theory as conceptualized by Ainsworth (1989) and Bowlby (1988). Reviews four self-report measures of adolescent and adult attachment. Discusses…

The paper looks at purposes of educational assessment of children with learning disabilities, assessment of the whole child, the plan for an assessment battery, the nuances of carrying out the assessment, and communication of the results to maximize appropriate follow up. Assessment purposes identified include screening, determining eligibility,…

A basic consideration in conducting a career education needs assessment is whether to select published tests or to develop new instruments and evaluation techniques. Advantages of published tests are availability and convenience and ease to use. Advantages in using self-developed measures can be seen by examining a needs assessment study in which…

The purpose of this book is to provide information about the various psychological assessment procedures that are specifically relevant for practicing counselors and human development professionals. The book deals with the use of such tests in the counseling process and includes illustrative case studies. It emphasizes the selection,…

Developmental screening is a brief survey of a child's level of functioning in the areas of fine and gross motor skills, cognitive abilities, speech and language (communication), social and emotional development, and sensory functioning. Screening differs from assessment, which is conducted after screening and may mean either a diagnostic…

The objectives of this program evaluation were to gather information and normative data about the students referred for psychoeducational evaluation; to determine the diagnostic profile of students referred for special education; and to use the information gathered to determine future program direction and possible program modifications. Students…

Specific recommendations are made concerning the circumstances under which the benefits of out-of-level testing outweigh the problems associated with it. Topics explored are: various methods for deciding when a set of test scores is invalid and the utility of these methods for local evaluators, the accuracy of vertical scaling, and the usefulness…

Providers of psychoeducational assessment services for hearing-impaired children, from infants to adolescents, were surveyed concerning their educational and experiential background, communication modes used, problems encountered, and educational placements of assessed children. Frequency of use scores and rankings are reported for psychological…

This summary of assessment information for programming in early childhood special education discusses principles of assessment, specific assessment procedures, and assessment instruments. An overview section on assessment provides definitions of "assessment" and "evaluation" and discusses the importance of assessment for…

Three papers are included in this document. The first, "An Introduction to the Problem of Test User Qualifications," by Kevin L. Moreland, is a short history of the American Psychological Association (APA)/American Educational Research Association (AERA)/National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) Working Group on Test User…

Discusses platform unity, or aligning curriculum content with appropriate test types. Presents findings from a survey of 30 Virginia community college faculty, indicating that the faculty did not plan and test content congruently, tended to overtest content, and were effective but not efficient in test selection. (25 citations) (AJL)