Background/Context: Pass/fail standardized exams frequently selectively rescore failing exams and retest failing examinees. This practice distorts the test score distribution and can confuse those who do analysis on these distributions. In 2011, the Wall Street Journal showed large discontinuities in the New York City Regent test score…

This article explores how the general term of assessment literacy can be specified to the area of reading through the lens of the informal reading inventory, Qualitative Reading Inventory-5. This article will investigate the common misconceptions that teachers, who were enrolled in a graduate program to become state-certified specialized literacy…

This article presents a cross-case analysis of two fourth-grade teachers' instruction while preparing their students for an English language arts test. Both teachers taught in high-needs urban public schools and were identified as effective teachers of balanced literacy through a multiple nomination process. This article uses situated literacy…

THIS STUDY ATTEMPTED TO DEVELOP A GROUP TEST OF GENERAL ABILITY WHICH WILL ACCURATELY ASSESS THE INTELLECTUAL CAPACITIES OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY STUDENTS IN THE PUERTO RICAN SCHOOLS. THE OBJECTIVES WERE--(1) TO DETERMINE WHAT COMMON INTELLECTUAL TASKS INDICATE MENTAL ABILITY IN SPANISH-SPEAKING PUERTO RICAN AND OTHER ENGLISH-SPEAKING AMERICAN…

After establishing a theoretical depiction of the domain of literature learning, a study developed test packages which examined: (1) the relationship among multiple choice, short open-ended, and long open-ended responses; (2) whether there would be differences according to the genres; (3) the relationship between literary and non-literary texts,…

Testing and assessment have become extremely important components of the educational program. The purpose of this position paper is to provide factual and policy-related information that may be of use to school boards as they design or improve their districts' testing and assessment policies. It is the New York State policy that school boards…

This preliminary investigation explored a means of maximizing the use of standardized test results. In addition to the usual package of alpha and ranked norm-referenced test reports, a special series of reports by the California Test Bureau/McGraw-Hill was generated for remedial reading and mathematics teachers. These reports displayed primarily…

The Pupil Evaluation Program is a fall testing program required of all pupils in grades 3, 6, and 9 in the public and nonpublic schools of New York State. The program was originally established to provide information vital to the efficient management of ESEA Title I funds. It now provides an annual Statewide school-by-school inventory of pupil…

This article examines whether an analysis of student answers to a standards-based, summative examination can be used to improve a teacher's instruction. The author, who is a chemistry teacher at Saratoga Springs High School, analyzed both the multiple-choice and the constructed response questions of the June 2003 New York State chemistry exam…

AN INVESTIGATION WAS MADE OF THE MINNESOTA VOCATIONAL INTEREST INVENTORY (MVII) PATTERNS AND VOCATIONAL ENROLLMENT TO AID IN THE SELECTION AND COUNSELING OF STUDENTS. OVER 1,000 HIGH SCHOOL BOYS IN THE 9TH AND 12TH GRADES WERE TESTED. A VARIETY OF VARIABLES WERE TESTED INCLUDING ETHNIC DISTRIBUTION. THE MVII WAS FOUND VALID IN SOME AREAS AND…

The purpose of this study is the substantiation of the use of selective cognitive and affective measures for effective identification of degree and level of academic disadvantagement of Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) students in New York State. This was accomplished by investigating the relationship between academic efficiency (e.g.,…

BECAUSE TEACHERS NEED RESOURCES BOTH TO ASSESS AND TO DEVELOP INTELLECTUAL SKILLS IN YOUNG CHILDREN, THE NEW YORK CITY BOARD OF EDUCATION AND THE EDUCATIONAL TESTING SERVICE UNDERTOOK A PROJECT IN THE FIRST GRADES OF 25 ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS DURING THE 1964-1965 SCHOOL YEAR. FOUR ASSUMPTIONS FORMED THE THEORETICAL BASE OF THE PROJECT--(1)…

A brief introduction to the topic of gender bias and fairness in testing is provided. A test is biased if men and women with the same ability levels tend to obtain different scores. The conditions under which a test is administered, the wording of individual test items, and a student's attitude toward the test can affect test results. While gender…

This manual for administrators and teachers describes The Reading Tests for New York State Elementary Schools. The tests, utilizing the Degrees of Reading Power methodology, are designed to measure the most difficult prose text a student can read with comprehension, and are administered to all sixth grade students as part of the Pupil Evaluation…

This study investigated the "customization" of a standardized achievement test to measure the effect on group and individual scores. "Customization" refers to the modification of an existing test to more closely match test specifications of the entity using the test, usually a state or large school district. Results of an…