After decades of criticism that standardized testing is culturally biased, the Educational Testing Service claims great strides in eliminating test bias in the Scholastic Assessment Tests and related tests and reports initiatives in cooperation with educators leading to better academic preparation for students of color. Critics still ask for…

The objections of testing experts to standardized testing are evaluated. The report begins with a foreword by Chester E. Finn, Jr., followed by an executive summary and an introduction. Four case studies include: (1) experts' opposition to high-stakes testing in Texas; (2) in North Carolina; (3) concerns raised in connection with the National…

This book summarizes the evaluation by the Committee on the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB) of the National Research Council of the U.S. Employment Service's use of the GATB. The book serves professional users, policymakers, and students of psychometrics because of its clear and concise review of important issues. (SLD)

Most of the arguments lodged against minimum competency testing are really observations about the abuses of testing. Blacks and other minority groups are understandably mistrustful of recent developments in minimum competency testing--possible grounds for legal challenges include the adequacy of the phase-in periods; the match between tests and…

The problems associated with standardized testing are illustrated in this collection of articles. Alternatives to current practices and strategies for change are suggested. The contributors discuss the roles and responsibilities of groups concerned with student evaluation systems, the testing of minority group and non-English-speaking students,…

The equity of a national examination system using authentic assessments is discussed from technological and historical perspectives. Testing is, in fact, a technology embedded in sociotechnical systems such as education, government, and business. The historical perspective is important because it provides lessons for present policy. The first…

In 1991, a study was conducted to determine the differential effects of placement testing on cultural, linguistic, and ethnic groupings in the San Diego Community College District (SDCCD). The study was conducted in two parts. The first part examined the characteristics of the students used to norm the Comparative Guidance Program (CGP) tests used…

The National Education Association (NEA) Task Force on Testing's position statement on educational and psychological testing, originally presented at the 1973 Representative Assembly of NEA, is reinforced for the 1975 assembly. In summary, the task force believes that the major use of tests should be to improve instruction--to diagnose learning…