This paper briefly summarizes the findings from a national survey for the Measurement Services Association (MSA) of testing and measurement offices regarding their organizational characteristics and their activities and services. Questionnaires were mailed to all testing offices (n=146) at colleges and universities on the MSA Newsletter mailing…

The president of the Educational Testing Service gives a history and an overview of the organization. (IRT)

The profile of American education in the twentieth century, especially at the secondary and postsecondary undergraduate levels, is mirrored in the chronology of College Board policies and programs over its 75-year history. After a review of the first 75 years, speculation is made on the next 25 years and the shapes that may be taken by American…

The American College Testing Program (ACT) aims to provide programs and services that assist students in informed educational and career decision making. A variety of ACT programs and services are described, including ACT Asset and Discover. (Author/MLW)

This paper discusses the development of a program of writing instruction across the curriculum at William Jewell College. It reports on a series of faculty forums that discussed what the college-wide standards for effective writing should be, investigated multidisciplinary instruction in writing, and considered a proficiency test. Descriptions of…

Presents a history of special services offered to the handicapped student taking the SAT, indicating regional usage of the testing program and usage according to types of disability. Reviews recent developments in testing services for disabled students with specifics as to test administration and interpretation. (RC)

Discusses the design and scoring of the writing proficiency exam conducted at San Francisco State University. Explains the program's counseling system for those students who do not pass the proficiency exam. (HTH)

In an ongoing experiment in the basic public speaking course at Miami University (Ohio), an attempt has been made to devise a testing approach that preserves the viability of the evaluation process and, at the same time, is efficient to administer and acceptable to students as a measure of what they have learned while performing. The alteration of…

Establishing and supporting a theoretical view in favor of assessment and evaluation as an adjunct to psychotherapy is clearly a difficult task in view of current anti-testing biases. But translating that viewpoint into practical terms within the environment of an emerging university can prove to be every bit as difficult. The current paper treats…

Every year approximately 1,300 first-year students at the Rochester Institute of Technology complete a 50-minute placement essay during summer and fall orientations. The essays are scored holistically, and the students are placed into one of three levels of an English composition course. At the end of the 10-week quarter of instruction, students…

The faculties of the postsecondary institutions in Florida, using the authority of the State Board of Education, have implemented a testing program that increases the assurance that all students who complete their sophomore year in college have achieved the communication and computation skills expected of them. (Author/MLW)

This paper explores the potential psychoeducational value of a perceptual-motor screening program designed to evaluate kindergarten and first grade children in a public elementary school. The possibility of providing such a service within the framework of a university training program is examined, and the value to the university and the community…

The development of the portion of a basic skills test that would adequately assess the writing ability of entering college freshmen in New Jersey is described in this paper. The stages of the test development process that are discussed include the decision to incorporate a writing sample in the form of an essay on a specified topic, the selection…

Reviews the process whereby Metropolitan State College (Colorado) developed a series of recommendations concerning the assessment of student learning. Discusses problems encountered and offers a sampling to show the style and detail of the recommendations. (DMM)

New Jersey's statewide testing program demonstrates that systematic data collection and reporting can have a major impact on both understanding the gap between college expectations and high school preparation and on the college and pre-college efforts to close that gap. (Author/MLW)