The nature of neuropsychological assessment and its application in the school environment are discussed. Neuropsychology is the study of how the brain and nervous system affect thinking and behavior. A complete neuropsychological assessment requires gathering and analyzing information on a child's: (1) physical, social, and psychological…

Tests can be categorized into two major groups: norm-referenced tests (NRTs) and criterion-referenced tests (CRTs). NRTs are designed to highlight achievement differences between and among students to produce a dependable rank order of students across a continuum of achievement from high achievers to low achievers. With NRTs, a representative…

This ERIC Digest describes the development of the 1994 National Assessment of Educational Progress for geography and the results from that examination of geographic knowledge and skills of students in grades four, eight, and twelve. The assessment format utilized multiple-choice questions and constructed-response questions. Results were reported…

This Digest describes the development of the 1998 National Assessment of Educational Progress for civics, and the results from that examination of civic knowledge and intellectual skills of students in grades four, eight, and twelve. The assessment format utilized multiple-choice and constructed-response questions. Results were reported by the…

Both norm-referenced and criterion-referenced interpretations of student, school, district, and state testing data can be improved by customizing the traditional norm-referenced test. Improvements that can be made include: (1) increasing the relevance of the test to the curriculum and (2) having greater confidence in the national comparative…