Compiled information from 31 countries to study trends in large-scale testing. Shows a clear trend toward adding, not dropping, testing programs. Twenty-seven countries show a net increase in testing, while only three show a decrease. Fifty-nine testing programs have been added; only four have been dropped. (SLD)

It has been proposed that the federal government's General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB) might be used to provide private employers with the same kind of useful information the federal government and college counselors receive about job applicants. The U.S. Department of Labor asked the National Research Council (NRC) to review the issues related…

A study was conducted of the public's interest in standardized student testing by reviewing the test-related sections of about 70 polls and surveys of public opinion. In general, the public favors more testing with higher stakes, perhaps because they consider testing in the context of real alternatives and find it best. (SLD)

Data from large-scale international studies for 13 countries indicate that U.S. students are clearly not the most heavily tested students on earth if one compares systemwide tests by their duration. In the United States, tests are much more likely to be of low consequence for the student. (SLD)

Studies of the extent of standardized testing in U.S. schools in the early 1980s to 1990s were reviewed. All show the amount of systemwide testing to be less than two days per year. Methodological issues are explored, and the extent-of-testing estimates are updated to about 1995 through more recent research. (SLD)

The objections of testing experts to standardized testing are evaluated. The report begins with a foreword by Chester E. Finn, Jr., followed by an executive summary and an introduction. Four case studies include: (1) experts' opposition to high-stakes testing in Texas; (2) in North Carolina; (3) concerns raised in connection with the National…

This document consists of 14 articles which appeared in the electronic news bulletin, "EducationNews.org," and which were part of a series on "Test Bashing," a discussion of the use of standardized tests that focuses on controversies surrounding the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills and test score improvements in Texas. The…

Starting in the late 1980s, two teams of researchers, well known for their criticism of standardized tests on equity and validity grounds, began attacking standardized testing on efficiency grounds as well, using cost-benefit analysis to do it. Their analyses are reviewed, and their conclusions discussed. The first team, Lorrie A. Shepard, Amelia…