English language programmes provide established pathways for international students seeking university admission in countries such as Australia and the United Kingdom. In order to refer international applicants to appropriate levels and durations of English language support prior to matriculation into their main course of study, pathway providers…

Community college students are often placed in developmental math courses based on the results of a single placement test. However, concerns about accurate placement have recently led states and colleges across the country to consider using other measures to inform placement decisions. While the relationships between college outcomes and such…

For years, colleges have used placement exams to determine whether to deem incoming students "college ready" or assign them to developmental education. Emerging information reveals the tests have little correlation to students' future success, casting doubt on their use even as the high stakes for students of taking remedial courses become clear.…

In 1979, humanities faculty at Reading Area Community College introduced the writing sample as the means of placing entering freshmen into appropriate writing classes. In response to expressed concern about the objectivity and validity of the writing sample approach, the humanities faculty engaged in a 6-year effort to adjust the writing sample…

Describes a study done at Suffolk County Community College (New York) that assessed the validity of the College Board's Computerized Placement Test in Reading Comprehension (CPT-R) by comparing test results of 1,154 freshmen with the results of the Degree of Power Reading Test. Results confirmed the CPT-R's reliability in identifying basic…

In July 1994, College of the Canyons (COC) in California conducted several predictive validity studies of the College Board Assessment and Placement Services (APS) Reading Test. COC began using the 35-question objective format test in spring 1993. Fall 1993 test scores were used in determining the ability of the APS Reading Test to predict student…

A study was conducted at Stark Technical College to compare a normative-referenced test for mathematics placement with a criterion-referenced test that had been used by the college. The study sought to compare statistically the scores of 165 students on the Mathematics Inventory Test (MIT--a criterion-referenced test that had been developed…

Matriculation regulations in California require that community colleges which adopt standardized placement tests demonstrate that the tests are valid predictors of future course success. A positive correlation of at least .35 between test score and subsequent student performance in a particular course is needed to demonstrate the predictive…

The California State University and Colleges English Placement Test was designed to provide information about the reading and writing skills of newly admitted college students. The validity of this measure is examined. (Author/JKS)

Describes a study to determine whether traditional paper-and-pencil tests or new computer-adaptive tests were better suited for assessing entering students at Santa Fe Community College, Florida. Focuses on teachers' attitudes toward computerized placement tests (CPTs), relationships between CPT scores and course grades, predictive ability of CPT…

Individualized instruction programs have imposed an increased reliance on tests as a means of selecting and routing students through sometimes complex programs. Testing which occurs within the training sequence is particularly vulnerable to inefficient use of both trainee and instructor time, but computer-based instruction system can provide a…

Public Law 94-142 mandates the identification and placement of learning disabled children based primarily on the measurement of intelligence. It is, therefore, the responsibility of educational psychologists to use standardized intelligence tests appropriately to accurately and objectively assess a childs' intellectual potential and ability. Three…

A study analyzed scores on placement tests and academic performance of over 1,800 first-year students at an urban public university. Results indicate that basic skills placement tests measured academic preparation more accurately than the American College Testing program and that standardized and local tests showed only moderate reliability,…

Describes a study of the validity and reliability of a writing skills assessment test taken by 4,284 2-year college students in 1986-87. Assesses interrater reliability, influences of nonperformance factors (e.g., gender, native language, and form of test), predictive validity of test for future performance, and implications of findings. (DMM)

Since standardized tests of English foreign language seem to lack external validity, a new test, the New Cloze Test (NCT), was developed and validated as a placement test for foreign students. Details of the test design, including paragraph preparation, word deletion, and recommended methods for administration and scoring are discussed. Subjects…