Teachers' reactions to the administration and scoring of the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program tests (MSPAP) were studied, focusing on their direct and indirect exposure to tasks and evaluative criteria through the experience of scoring the MSPAP. Since its inception in 1991, the MSPAP has been scored in-state by certified teachers…

This document is a report to the Delaware State Legislature concerning the results of the Delaware Educational Assessment Program in 1989-90. The Stanford Achievement Test was administered statewide in grades 1 through 8 and grade 11. This administration allowed both national and state comparisons. The average Delaware student performed above the…

Designed for parents of kindergarten and elementary school children in Austin, Texas, this brochure explains the structure and function of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills. A question and answer format is used to provide information on the scope and purposes of the tests, grade level differences in testing, meaning and accuracy of the scores, and…

The instructional effectiveness of commercially prepared test preparation materials was studied using Riverside Publishing Company's "Improving Test-Taking Skills" materials. The study further investigated differential effects of test-taking instruction as a result of student characteristics. In the first year of the study (1986-87),…

The York Region Board of Education in Ontario, Canada, screens students for giftedness in grade 3. This report analyzes data produced in the 1986-87 screening procedure, involving approximately 3,400 students. The report begins with a review of procedural changes that were designed to make the screening more effective and efficient than earlier…

The Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District Office of Program Evaluation and Research is responsible for providing information for program development and improvement; providing test information to special programs coordinators; and acting as a clearinghouse for all information concerning tests, evaluation methodology, and educational…

In discussing the third national assessment of reading and literature, four major points can be made. First, norm-referenced tests and criterion-referenced tests ignore serious ethical and measurement problems, namely, we don't know enough about individual differences to do such testing and the outcome, social class tracking, is ethically…

Findings are presented of an empirical study involving public, private, and parochial school systems' use of standardized test information by central office administrators. Examples of actual use are given, and descriptions of central office perspectives on standardized testing are detailed. Three categories were found to account for most of the…

An advisory committee representing counselors, curriculum specialists, students, teachers, and community members should participate in selecting standardized tests for school districts. These steps should be followed: (1) identify test purpose in relation to needs and objectives--diagnosis, placement, career guidance, program evaluation; (2)…

The National Education Association's Task Force on Testing has stated its opinion that standardized tests are overused. The task force suggests that the application of sampling techniques and a variety of alternatives to current testing practices would accomplish the same purposes. Representatives of the testing industry have indicated that the…

The highlights of South Carolina's Statewide Testing Program, Fall, 1975 are summarized. Chapter one provides an overview of the report including the program's historical origins and changes that have occurred over the past five years as well as a delineation of the program's major objectives. Chapter two is concerned with ways in which the…

Under the California Assembly Bill 665 of 1972, the state assessment program must test all students in grades 1, 2, 3, 6, and 12 in reading skills, and those in grades 6 and 12 to assess their skills in effectiveness of written expression, spelling, and mathematics. The state may develop its own tests, and a matrix sampling approach may be used…

Safran Student Interest Inventory (SSII) data was gathered on 135 university students registered in five different faculties. A discriminant analysis of the data indicated that the SSII was a good test for separating students into faculties and therefore would make a good counselling instrument. Some results are also present using Differential…

At the administration of the Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP) science and social studies tests in 2000, a questionnaire survey was given to students in grades 4 and 6. Survey questions were developed in three categories: (1) Opportunity To Learn; (2) Science; and (3) Social Studies. Student responses were analyzed by test, grade, gender,…

Three guides provide sample problems like the ones students would solve on the Colorado Student Assessment Program tests. For each question, the pertinent Colorado state standard is identified. The ninth grade guide contains questions in reading, writing and mathematics; the guide to the 10th grade examination also contains questions related to…