Scoring SAT-style exam essays, John S. O'Connor is struck by the disconnection between the subject matter and students' personal lives. Further, O'Connor notes that such tests draw an alarming distinction between writing and "content"--as if the two are unrelated. O'Connor calls for a broader understanding of literacy, and he warns of dire…

Speededness refers to the situation where the time limits on a standardized test do not allow substantial numbers of examinees to fully consider all test items. When tests are not intended to measure speed of responding, speededness introduces a severe threat to the validity of interpretations based on test scores. In this article, we describe…