Many postsecondary institutions currently administer standardized tests of general college outcomes; more than a quarter of Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) member institutions do so. Using standardized tests for accountability purposes has been contentious mainly because these tests do not measure every important…

Despite decades of research and debate, the issue of unequal outcomes continues to be a concern in educational systems worldwide. In England, published data relating to pupils' attainment across ethnic groups and by class indicators has been used to demonstrate continued inequalities in schools. This article attempts to deconstruct the…

Students were given practical tests in which they performed mathematical tasks, and written tests covering the same material. In general students scored higher on the practical test than the written test, and there were interaction effects with the order in which the tests were given and with verbal reasoning. (SD)

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, and the revised form of that measure, were administered to a sample of sixth grade pupils. Although the correlation between measures was high, scores on the revised form were significantly lower. (JKS)

RESEARCH WAS UNDERTAKEN BY THE UNITED STATES EMPLOYMENT SERVICE TO INVESTIGATE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE EFFECTS OF PRACTICE ON TEST TAKING AND THE LENGTH OF TIME BETWEEN INITIAL TESTING (PRACTICE) AND RETESTING (SEE ALSO VT 003 819). THE DESIGN INVOLVED TESTING A SAMPLE OF STATE EMPLOYMENT SECURITY AGENCY EMPLOYEES WITH THE GENERAL APTITUDE…

This report is the second part of a study designed to construct a test for measuring musical aptitude of persons from various age groups. It covers the construction of the test, material, item analysis, reliability, validity, and possible future steps. The test is composed of musical recordings, determined from pilot studies, that the test groups…

An important aspect of Ontario's participation in the Second International Study of Mathematics was a comparative analysis of students' mathematics achievement from 1968 to 1982. Achievement levels remained remarkably constant. The problem of declining achievement in the United States was not apparent in this analysis of Ontario students. (LMO)

The construct validity of three spatial ability tests was assessed by determining the correlation between the test results and student class grades in various subjects for 58 eighth graders enrolled at the Burris Laboratory School, Ball State University (Muncie, Indiana). Results do not strongly support any of the tests evaluated. (SLD)

The construct validity of 290 preadolescent children's responses to 3 instruments claiming to measure dimensions of self-concept was studied. Instruments administered to the fifth graders include the Self-Description Questionnaire; the Perceived Competence Scale; and the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scales. (SLD)

The purpose of this paper is (1) to discuss a set of standards that can be used to evaluate potential assessment instruments; and (2) to use these standards to evaluate the American College Testing Program's College Outcomes Measures Program (ACT-COMP) and the Educational Testing Service (ETS) Academic Profile. Using the work of S. Messick (1975,…

The Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST) has been given to all students as an entry requirement into teacher education programs at Tennessee Technological University (Cookeville) since 1983. All students at the University are also required to take the American College Test (ACT). One of the questions in this study related to whether the same or…

A substantially revised Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) was introduced in spring 1991. The new examination is designed to assess critical thinking skills, basic concepts and problem solving facility in science, and writing skills. This paper reports preliminary findings on the factor structure of the revised MCAT, which consists of four…

The Iowa Tests of Basic Skills were administered to over 600 black and white students in grades six through nine, to determine if the test showed bias against minorities. Outliers were identified from test results. Outliers are items which differ from the central core of test items because they fall outside the range expected from a random…