Examines eight years of reading test scores of entering college freshmen and analyzes the data, taking into consideration relevant contributing factors and testing trends. (HOD)

Comments on the strengths and weaknesses of the reading portions of the California Achievement Tests. (JT)

After taking a standardized reading achievement test, student reading attitudes were most positive when students had previously been counseled on the purpose and nature of the testing and when their scores were interpreted to them. (JT)

Reviews the third edition of this widely used assessment instrument. Concludes that the test is reliable, quick and easy to administer, and that the publishers provide many special services. Lists liabilities as lack of validity evidence, omission of reading and study skills, and lack of distinctions among different types of reading comprehension.…

Reviews the Test of Practical Knowledge, a multiple choice test of "functional competency," noting that the test's task requirements are confounded by such factors as intelligence, achievement, social knowledge, and reading ability. (HOD)

Illustrates the importance of carefully interpreting reading test results. (JT)

Reviews the Stanford Writing Assessment Program that has three intended uses: district-wide survey of students' writing ability, diagnosis of classroom or district-wide instructional strengths and weaknesses, and staff development through training for administering and scoring of writing samples. Notes that of these uses, none is necessarily best…

Argues that colleges can use Verbal SAT scores to place freshmen in reading courses when comprehension measures are not available. (HOD)

Questions the validity and reliability of the Reading/Everyday Activities in Life (R/EAL) test, which is intended as a self-administered, self-directed, and self-paced test of basic literacy for minority populations and others traditionally singled out by the bias of standardized reading achievement tests. (SRT)

Compares twelfth-grade students' performance on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) with their performance on the Metropolitan Achievement Test 1: Reading Survey or the Degrees of Reading Power Test, concluding that the findings challenge the notion that low SAT scores indicate a lack of basic reading skills. (HOD)

Reviews a secondary school version of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) that focuses on two of the primary language skills: listening and reading. Subtest includes a variety of tasks measuring semantic, syntactic, and higher-level reading comprehension abilities. (NKA)

Offers suggestions for (1) using microcomputer programs for reading and spelling instruction, (2) helping students analyze multiple-choice tests, and (3) motivating reluctant readers through sports. (AEA)