The need for an independent mechanism that regulates, or audits, the testing enterprise is discussed along with a critique of current mechanisms for challenging a high-stakes test or its use and the need for independent auditing of the commercial test industry. Models for an auditing mechanism are reviewed. (SLD)

A strength of this exploration of testing and test use in the United States is the concern for how tests affect student conceptions of learning and student relation to knowledge. A weakness is a persistent confounding of classroom and large-scale assessment for state and national purposes. (SLD)

The findings in Volume I of the Committee on Ability Testing's report (see ED 213 770 and ED 213 771) are shown to be ambiguous regarding the meaning of ability, vague regarding test validity, and ingenuous regarding test uses and misuse. The neglect of the basic question of what tests measure is noted. (CM)

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville conducted a system-wide effort to increase use of student outcome information in assessing and improving academic programs. For this effort, the university received the National Council on Measurement in Education award for an outstanding example of an application of educational measurement technology. (EGS)

This paper seeks to identify ways of making measurement more relevant to classroom teachers, and making classroom realities more apparent to measurement specialists. Measurement elements of teacher education textbooks and courses, nontraditional assessment topics, informal classroom measurement techniques, terminological issues, and three types of…

The Committee on Ability Testing's report (see ED 213 770 and ED 213 771) is shown to give primacy to employment productivity and efficiency values, creating an institutional bias in their analysis of testing. The importance of a balance of alternative multiple perspectives to broaden testing criteria, standards, fairness, and social values served…

This training module is intended to clarify the notion of portfolio assessment and help users design such assessments. The rationale for assessment alternatives is presented; and portfolio definitions, characteristics, pitfalls, and design considerations are reviewed. The use of portfolios in large-scale assessments is particularly demanding of…

Content areas that should be included in testing and measurement courses, subsidiary skills, and means of rationalizing the content and skills are outlined. Areas include basic concepts, assessment uses, assessment planning and development, interpretation of assessments, description of results, evaluation and improvement of assessments, feedback…

Elementary and secondary teachers (N=323) were surveyed to determine teacher use of post hoc classroom test statistics and the relationship of inservice practices to background and instructional characteristics. Results indicate teachers do not analyze test results by methods prescribed by measurement specialists. Implications for preservice…

A broad description is given of admissions procedures to Israeli universities. In Israel, a single unified test, the Psychometric Entrance Test, is used for admission to the various universities. Issues of validity and reliability and problems of ensuring fairness for non-Hebrew speakers are considered. (SLD)

Problematic opinions and practices regarding testing and grading were studied for 536 secondary school teachers of academic subjects. Results indicate widespread differences between teacher beliefs and practices and what measurement specialists would recommend as testing practices. Implications for teacher training in measurement are discussed.…

The effects of test performance of differentially written multiple-choice tests and test takers' cognitive style were studied for 47 graduate students and 35 public school and college teachers. Adhering to test-writing item guidelines resulted in mean scores basically the same for two groups of differing cognitive style. (SLD)

A brief description is presented of the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test (SweSAT), its content, and its use. The SweSAT has been used for college admission in Sweden since 1977. Some related research activities, including studies of sex differences, dimensionality, and effects of test coaching, are described. (SLD)

The testing practices and tests described in the preceding articles are reviewed and compared. This cross-cultural examination identifies some issues that are common to the United States and Europe: (1) the emphasis on performance tasks, (2) the accommodation of language minorities, and (3) concerns about gender differences. (SLD)