This article reviews the revised KeyMath Revised-Normative Update American and Canadian editions, and a draft version of the 1999 pending revision. The assessment instrument is intended to test basic mathematical concepts, operations, and applications of students in grades K-12. Its administration, standardization, reliability, and validity are…

Four studies involving a total of 150 college students, a junior high school student, and a high school student are presented that evaluate the validity of the Computer-based Academic Assessment system (CAAS) as a diagnostic technique for identifying specific reading disabilities in college students. Results show that the CAAS meets the criteria…

The last century was marked by dazzling changes in many areas, such as technology and communications. Predictions into the second century of testing are seemingly difficult in such a context. Yet, looking back to the turn of the last century, Kirkpatrick (1900), in his American Psychological Association presidential address, presented fundamental…

The increasing availability and performance of computer-based testing has prompted more research on the automatic assessment of language and speaking proficiency. In this investigation, we evaluated the feasibility of using an off-the-shelf speech-recognition system for scoring speaking prompts from the LanguEdge field test of 2002. We first…

In this journal issue, the authors of the focus articles have provided a suite of very stimulating and thoughtful articles. The overarching purpose of this research is to explore the application of principles derived from the view of validity proposed by Kane (2004) to their research on issues related to the measurement of mathematical knowledge…

The Secondary Level Proficiency (SLEP) test, offered by the SLEP School Services Program at the Educational Testing Service, measures English language listening comprehension and reading comprehension skills. It was developed for use with nonnative-English speaking students in grades 7 through 12. The SLEP is administered and scored locally, and…

The evolution of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) and certification process is traced. The challenges posed by combining, for certification purposes, the scores from internal and external assessments of school candidates are discussed in the face of the low reliability of teachers'…

A study at Brigham Young University (Utah) investigated the feasibility of computer-assisted language placement testing in higher education. Benefits and problems of this approach for test administration, individualization of item selection, and recordkeeping were examined. Four steps were followed in production of a test for Spanish placement:…

Findings of a study that sought to determine teachers' and principals' perceptions concerning state-mandated testing are presented in this paper. Data were gathered through interviews with 30 fifth- and sixth-grade teachers and 12 principals in 3 states--Tennessee, Illinois, and New York--where statewide testing has been implemented for 30 years,…

Equivalence in reliability and validity across 4-point and 6-point scales was assessed by fitting different measurement models through confirmatory factor analysis of a multitrait-multimethod covariance matrix. Responses to nine Likert-type items designed to measure perceived quantitative ability, self-perceived usefulness of quantitative…

Educational refinement is defined as attempts to improve education through incremental improvements in the existing structure, while educational reform refers to change in the structure itself. A strong move is underway to reform education in the United States. It is argued that the development of assessments in support of educational reform…

This manual is a guide to the Work Temperament Inventory (WTI), a self-report measure of 12 work temperaments that were originally identified and defined by the U.S. Department of Labor. The WTI consists of 134 items requiring a simple "like" or "dislike" response and a reading level of seventh grade. It can be completed in 15…

The 1992-93 school year saw the second statewide implementation of the Vermont portfolio-assessment program, and RAND continued its ongoing evaluation of the program's implementation, effects, and data quality. While the first year's study found evidence of the impact of the assessment program and low reliability of portfolio scoring, this year's…

The predictive validity of the National Teacher Examinations (NTE) tests of communications skills (CS) and general knowledge (GK) as entrance requirements for teacher education programs and for later performance on the state certification examination were studied. Data were collected for 1,143 graduates of teacher education programs in North…

This section of the TESOL convention volume challenges basic assumptions which are held by language teachers and researchers while at the same time providing other assumptions for professionals to challenge. The following papers are presented: (1) My View of "Teaching Languages: A Way and Ways," by E. Stevick; (2) "'I Got…