Standard-setting procedures are a key component within many large-scale educational assessment systems. They are consensual approaches in which committees of experts set cut-scores on continuous proficiency scales, which facilitate communication of proficiency distributions of students to a wide variety of stakeholders. This communicative function…

Discusses criticisms of international educational studies and describes ways in which such studies can be used advantageously for diagnosis, identification of "what works," and monitoring and accountability. Presents examples of these categories of use. (SLD)

Studied whether the predictive validity of the test given at the end of Dutch primary education and hence the primary school's advice on secondary school selection was the same for second generation immigrant (SGI) and native Dutch (ND) students. Findings show test bias in the examination and have implications for the evaluation of SGI students.…

Language tests reflect the complexities and power struggles of society. Critical language testing recognizes this aspect of language testing and broadens the field by engaging it in the sphere of social dialog. Studying, protecting, and guarding language tests is part of the process of providing quality learning and preserving democratic cultures,…

The Educational Testing Service Kit of Factor-Referenced Cognitive Tests contains 72 tests that are supposed to be markers of 23 latent cognitive constructs. Examination of the factor structure of four of these tests with 165 undergraduates suggests caution in using the measures as markers of distinct factors. (SLD)

Studied evaluation practices and the attitudes of teachers in the Netherlands toward these practices through a survey of 617 teachers and 214 principals. Findings show assessment routines to be strongly domain-dependent. Teachers have a preference for curriculum-embedded tests and the grading of work sheets above norm-referenced tests. Overall,…

Issues related to the two-stage college entrance examinations used in Turkey are explored. Focus is on the first stage, the selection phase of the examination, rather than on the second stage, the placement phase. Further study is needed of the dimensionality of the test and sources of item bias. (SLD)

Advocate the use of repeated applications of inventories of approaches to learning as an appropriate technique for the evaluation of educational innovations. Presents three case studies that use the Study Process Questionnaire (J. Biggs, 1987) to show how the measure can be used for innovations in naturalistic settings. (SLD)

Discusses the national option mathematics test developed by Dutch educators because of doubts that the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) mathematics test was appropriate for Dutch students. Discusses test results that indicate that the TIMSS was, in fact, appropriate for use in the Netherlands. (SLD)

Studied the relationship between classroom assessment and motivational goals in diverse class climates in two Israeli elementary schools those that mainly apply traditional assessment and two that mainly apply alternative assessment. Results for 261 sixth-grade students show distinct differences in student perceptions of assessment and perception…

Investigated the validity of the Swedish model for selection to higher education, using S. Messick's (1989) four-faceted model of validity and grade-point-average and admissions test data for 314 college students. Results challenges the unidimensional use of the selection instruments. (SLD)

The reasons for using tests in early childhood programs are (1) to increase teachers' confidence in their role performance; (2) to explain and defend early childhood programs; (3) to promote consistency across programs; (4) to provide curriculum and instruction guidance to teachers; and (5) to focus teachers and parents on the more measurable…

Issues of dimensionality, validity, reliability, and generalizability of students' ratings of instruction were studied with 610 college students who evaluated their instructors on the Teacher Effectiveness Scale. The Scale had high internal consistency, but interrater reliability, generalizability, and predictive validity warrant further study.…

A case study in a developing country raises issues about the use of tests for educational selection. Issues concerning secondary school admission in developing countries have counterparts in admission criteria for higher education in developed nations. However, one case study of one system cannot provide definitive conclusions for others. (SLD)

This paper discusses the use of tests by American teachers over the past six decades. A representative sample of the research centering on the linkage between testing and teaching is cited. (LMO)