Just like all the high-stakes tests that determine students' futures nowadays, The Chorizo Test is a standardized test rooted in the culture of the test makers. It was originally created to be used with students in teacher training programs to sensitize them to the pitfalls inherent in standardized pencil-and-paper tests, such as linguistic bias…

Describes interpretation technique for providing detailed feedback to students about their performance on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills. Students summarize their own performance on each major skill. The practical aspects of understanding the full use of routinely collected data make the approach desirable. (Author)

A critical view of the underlying theoretical rationale of the System of Multicultural Pluralistic Assessment (SOMPA) model for student assessment is presented. The critique is extensive and questions the basic assumptions of the model. (JKS)

The Virginia Community College System established an ad hoc committee to review its testing program. Each member college was polled as to the areas of skills, potential, or aptitude it desired measured in each of seven curricula areas. The detailed responses of each college are included in the report. The committee established the following…

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 Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) utilize the state mandated testing of students in grades 3, 5 and 8 with the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS) as an accountability index. The district has set objectives to be met by teachers and students. The Department of Instructional Research, Testing, and Evaluation (IRTE) District Program…

Addressing the issue of testing and evaluation in English at the university level, this paper focuses on the development and use of the English Placement Test developed by the California State University system. The discussion of this testing program is placed within a framework of four testing principles: testing is an essential part of learning…

The 1997 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) included provisions specifying that states and districts must include students with disabilities in their assessment systems with reasonable accommodations, that states report on the performance of students with disabilities with the same detail and frequency they report on…

This report deals with ways to report basic skills test data which would facilitate the identification of student weaknesses. Under study are the technical aspects and methods associated with the reporting of objective-referenced data. An exploration is then made into the use of patterns of errors in responding to basic skills test items to…

The topic of high-stakes testing (HST) is important because HST has direct and indirect effects on career-technical education (CTE) programs and timely because HST increasingly enters public discussion and has produced a large body of research and practice that generalizes to CTE. A review of HST has identified two persisting dilemmas: policy and…

This collection of articles is designed to enhance leadership for the promotion of effective evaluation and learning. The articles include an Introduction, by Fred Snyder; Exerting Leadership Toward Effective Evaluation of Pupil Performance, by T. L. Drake; The Elementary Principal as an Instructional Leader, by John Ourth; The Secondary Principal…

BENCHMARKS is intended as an aid to the proper use of Georgia Statewide Testing Program scores. It provides information about the program and the tests; reading and understanding the various reports; understanding what the scores mean; and applying test results for the improvement of learning opportunities for Georgia children and youth. It is…

Specifying the purpose and uses to be made of a test prior to administration is of paramount importance when one considers the time administrators and teachers spend on selecting, developing, administering and scoring tests and the amount of student time required to complete the tests. Determination of how test results will be used should be made…

The Portland Board of Education had requested that the Oregon Central Evaluation Department provide student achievement data so as to allow comparisons with other school districts by reporting national grade level equivalent (GLE) scores on standardized tests of reading and mathematics for grades 4 and 8. For years, the position of most research…

Designed for junior high and high school students and their parents, this brochure explains the structure, function, and method for interpretation of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills and the Sequential Tests of Educational Progress. A question and answer format is used to provide information on scope and purposes of the tests, meaning and accuracy…