Educational assessment and, more broadly, educational research in the United States have entered into an era characterized by a dramatic increase in the prevalence and importance of test score use in accountability systems. This volume covers a selection of contemporary issues about testing science and practice that impact the nation's public…

This article describes the findings of studies conducted on a large-scale, classroom-based performance assessment of literacy for the early grades designed to provide information that is useful for reporting, as well as teaching. Technical studies found the assessment to be a promising instrument that is reliable and valid. Follow-up studies of…

Twenty-three learning disabled (LD) children (age 8-12 years) and 15 nondisabled children (age 8-12 years) were individually administered the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery-Children's Revision (LNNB). Means and standard deviations for each of the test's scales were computed by group, and individual T-tests were calculated for…

Assessed construct validity of Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R) as measure of general achievement in 208 children, aged 6-12. Results indicated that PPVT-R had substantial loadings on factors resembling Kaufman's (1975) Verbal Comprehension factor, while it consistently failed to load significantly on achievement-related factors.…

Evaluated elementary school students (N=198) using six mental processing subtests of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) and three tests of planning. Results indicated orthogonal simultaneous and sequential factors emerged; the verbal simultaneous test was a good addition; and a "planning" factor identified by three…

Describes a revision of the Names Test, an easy-to-administer phonics assessment. Describes what was done to increase the test's category reliability, to further examine the test's validity, and to enhance its usability. (SR)

Argues that giving students a reading test that is above or below their levels of achievement will yield inaccurate information. (FL)

Reviews the ANSER System, a set of questionnaires designed to collect background information from parents, teachers, and students that would be useful in conducting indepth evaluations of learning and behavioral problems. Concludes that because it relies on subjective interpretations, its use should be limited to specialists. (FL)

This paper argues for an expanded conception of test validity, in which teachers, as end-users of tests, contribute a distinctive perspective on validity, referred to as inferential validity. It also offers a methodology that could be adopted in order to subject this dimension of validity to scrutiny. An investigation conducted into the meanings…

This review of the Screening Assessment for Gifted Elementary Students (SAGES) and the Screening Assessment for Gifted Elementary Students-Primary (SAGES-P) looks at test content, utility, and technical considerations. The tests are commended for their provision of gifted norms. Some reservations about the tests' validity and reliability data are…

Investigated the use of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC)-Nonverbal Scale with severely hearing impaired children (N=49), using two instructional sets (American sign language (ASL) plus pantomime and gestures, or pantomime and gesture (PG) instructions only). Support is provided for the appropriateness of the K-ABC, for use with…

A scale was developed to assess several types of motivation in elementary school children. In addition to the usually recognized internal and external motivation, a third type, termed "amotivation," has been postulated. Students are amotivated when they do not perceive a link between outcomes and their own actions. The preliminary…

The motor performance components of 11 tests measuring childhood motor development were analyzed with respect to five criteria listed in the American Psychological Association's Standards for Educational and Psychological Tests. Researchers concluded that the motor tests did not contribute to psychological constructs for early childhood testing.…

This paper describes a battery of evaluation instruments designed to test the language skills of limited-English-proficient (LEP) elementary school students (K-6). The battery assesses students in four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing), uses educational tasks similar to those required in mainstream instruction, and reflects…

Interset and set-to-total correlations for the California Card Sorting Test were studied for 135 college students and 63 elementary school students. Although subsets were not equivalent, the generally good correlations between subset and total test scores indicated that use of the individual subsets as short forms is justified. (SLD)