The Nevada Department of Education implemented a standard setting study of the Pre-Professional Skills Tests. The tests constitute a secure test battery developed by the Educational Testing Service to assess basic proficiency in reading, writing, and mathematics via three multiple-choice tests and a written essay test. The Nevada study, in the…

The Statewide Assessment Program, administered by the Alaska Department of Education, tests all fourth and eighth graders in math and reading biennially. In 1985, the Department's Office of Evaluation, Assessment and Research undertook an evaluation of the assessment program to identify procedures which needed improvement and to determine the…

Perspectives on testing and grading are considered; and strategies, reference materials, and sample test items are presented. Attention is directed to specific impacts of testing and grading on students and teachers, purposes of testing and grading, and common complaints of students and teachers. Extra activities proposed for the teacher include…

This test manual provides information on the development, characteristics, and use of the Individualized Instruction Inventory (III), a 64-item behavioral instrument designed to assess the extent to which community college instructors use individualized instruction in the classroom. The manual begins by providing a brief overview of the III,…

The materials presented were developed for use in a series of conferences on testing and instruction sponsored by the National Institute of Education, with the United States Office of Education, the UCLA Center for the Study of Evaluation, and a network of research and development agencies. They are intended for use by school practitioners and…

Sixteen Family Practice faculty members completed ratings on 59 senior medical students after a 6-week primary care clerkship. Each student was rated by seven to ten faculty members and the chief residents who worked with them, resulting in a total of 353 ratings. The rating scale covered: (1) attainment of learning objectives; (2) progress during…

This study investigated the relationship of standardized test scores and locally developed test scores to course placement and academic success in a developmental program. The sample consisted of 281 students who matriculated in the Division of Developmental Studies at a southern university. Eligible students for enrollment in Developmental…

This paper reports on Educational Testing Service research studies investigating the parameters critical to reliability and validity in both the direct and indirect writing ability assessment of higher education applicants. The studies involved: (1) formulating an operational definition of writing competence; (2) designing and pretesting writing…

Educational achievement tests, career interest inventories, and aptitude tests are reviewed for examples of sex bias, and changes in policy concerning the use of these tests are suggested. These suggestions are within the authority and responsibility of local and state educational administrators, teachers, counselors, parents, and students. The…

Using college freshmen enrolled in a learning analysis course, the relationship between five tests of cognitive style was investigated: (1) Group Embedded Figures Test; (2) Grasha-Riechmann Student Learning Style Questionnaire; (3) Adult Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale; (4) Mehrabian Stimulus Screening Test; and (5) Kolb Learning Style…

Papers are presented that were prepared as part of a study group of the International Council for Educational Development on criteria and procedures for admission to higher education and the relationship between higher education and the law. In "Access to Higher Education and the Law," Larry G. Simon analyzes the role of law and especially the…

The concurrent validity of the third grade, New York State Pupil Evaluation Reading Program (PEP) reading test was examined with the following standardized tests: the Durrell Silent Reading Test, the Gilmore Oral Reading Test, the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT), the Verbal IQ of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC), and the…

The Kentucky state plan for the collection of data concerning the cognitive, affective and pscyhomotor needs of school children is discussed. The plan entails: (1) identification of the needs of learners to be served, (2) determination of the criticality of the learner needs that are identified by applying judgmental values, (3) establishment of…

The 1971-72 Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) provided information on 22 measures of students and schools. While some of the data were gathered in routine Michigan Department of Education reports, mean socioeconomic status (SES) for each school and student performance data were gathered in a special endeavor during January 1972. The…

This study investigated the validity of various approaches to the measurement of English composition skills. Over 600 11th and 12th-grade students were asked to write five 20-minute essays on different topics, to take six objective tests of writing ability, and to do two interlinear exercises. Twenty-five experienced readers assigned scores of…