A brief overview is presented of the current status of mandatory testing in the United States, and of some of the problems involved. While the testing of teacher candidates is generally approved, both the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association oppose the testing of veteran teachers. It is suggested that leadership…

The soundness of the existing system of examination at the high school level in India is assessed with particular reference to the English section. The purposes to be served by the examination are discussed and the shortcomings of the system are described. The test and the passing procedure is found inferior to those systems which utilize…

Much of what has developed in the testing of reading harkens back to the days of the "Cult of Efficiency" movement in education that can be largely attributed to Frederick Winslow Taylor. Taylor spent most of his productive years studying time and motion in an attempt to streamline industrial production so that people could work as…

An overview is presented of the current status of competency testing for teacher certification. The question of the effect of certification tests on the quality of hired teachers is briefly discussed. Statistics are presented on types of tests used by various states, with particular attention to differences in the cut-off scores for passage of a…

Standardized achievement tests are often misused as indicators of a school's quality or effectiveness relative to other schools. This is an incorrect use because it ignores variation among schools in student abilities, family support of education, student mobility, and other factors. People also misuse tests because they impute to them more…

This handbook, in two parts, constitutes a manual prepared by the American Federation of Teachers, for improving teachers' use of standardized tests. Part I outlines basic concepts and issues surrounding standardized testing for teachers, parents and school administrators. The terms norm-referenced tests, criterion referenced tests, minimum…

This article analyzes potential problems in using standardized achievement tests in early childhood education settings. The first problem discussed is whether the outcomes typically measured by standardized achievement tests are the outcomes about which early childhood educators are most concerned. Second, it is argued that a concern for test…

The Florida Teacher Certification Examination (FTCE) is based upon selected competencies that have been identified as minimal entry-level skills for prospective teachers. A description is given of the four subtests which make up the FTCE: (1) writing--essay on general topics; (2) reading--multiple choice "cloze" procedure on general…

The Florida Teacher Certification Examination (FTCE) is based upon selected competencies that have been identified as minimal entry-level skills for prospective teachers. A description is given of the four subtests which make up the FTCE: (1) writing--essay on general topics; (2) reading--multiple choice "cloze" procedure on general…

To establish an objective measure of English skills for graduation candidates and to determine whether objective and subjective measures of English skills produce different results, 101 volunteers completed a writing sample and the Reading and Written English Expression tests of the Comparative Guidance and Placement Program (CGP). Scores obtained…