Survey results have suggested that, while teachers like to have test information available, most do not have great skill or consistency in interpreting test score data. Teachers who consider a certain type of test very valuable or useful are less likely to question the accuracy of the scores than are teachers who consider a test to be of little…

A formative evaluation minimum competency test model is examined. The model systematically uses assessment information to support and facilitate program improvement. In terms of the model, four inter-related qualities are essential for a sound testing program. The content validity perspective looks at how well the district has defined competency…

This set of articles draws from a conceptual model for Hispanic mental health research developed by the Hispanic Research Center of Fordham University and describes the development and use of "Tell-Me-a-Story" (TEMAS), a new thematic apperception test for the assessment of personality functioning in ethnic minority children. An…

A study was undertaken to (1) examine the development and construction of a Group Informal Reading Inventory to predict the reading comprehension levels (independent, instructional, and frustration) of junior high school bilingual students for the purpose of reading instruction; and (2) validate the inventory through a three-way correlational…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 15 titles include studies of an informal reading inventory; an item-type to test phonic and context skills; reliability of residual gain scores based on means for a standardized reading achievement measure; alternatives to…

A profile method was used to analyze the patterns of four English proficiency tests (Comprehensive English Language Test for Speakers of English as a Second Language: Structure, CELT: Listening, Reading for Understanding Test, and The New Cloze Test) regarding two examinee characteristics: their language proficiency levels and native language. One…

Twenty-four high schools in 18 Georgia school systems were selected to participate in a project to check the potential validity, reliability, usefulness, and costs of several direct and indirect measures of writing: holistic, analytic, primary trait, writing mechanics (error counts), and indirect measures (objective multiple choice items). Another…

Set against the backdrop of a decade in which college admissions test scores have declined, this report reviews issues affecting college admissions testing and their implications, and focuses specifically on the debate between the makers and supporters of standardized tests and test critics. Overviews of the College Entrance Examination Board's…

This handbook, in two parts, constitutes a manual prepared by the American Federation of Teachers, for improving teachers' use of standardized tests. Part I outlines basic concepts and issues surrounding standardized testing for teachers, parents and school administrators. The terms norm-referenced tests, criterion referenced tests, minimum…

As a supplement to standardized reading tests, the Philadelphia Public School System prepared three parallel sets of reading tests to meet the following criteria: (1) be suitable for grouping secondary pupils within Title I reading classes; (2) be group administered and machine scoreable; (3) be short enough to be administered in one or two…

The Adaptive Behavior Scale, as developed, contains 10 domains of behavior reflecting independent functioning and social-emotional responsibility in Part One, and 14 domains of behavior appraising social-emotional adaptation in Part Two. The establishment of construct validity and standardization of the Scale for use with normal and handicapped…

The Student's Perception of Ability Scale (SPAS) was developed in response to a need for a reliable and valid instrument to measure academic, rather than general, self-concept in elementary school children. This scale was designed for use with children in Grades 3 to 6. Descriptive data on the SPAS were discussed in terms of its substantive,…

The relationship among writing assessment strategies which may be applicable to competency based testing was examined in a study involving 128 high school students in six English classes in grades 11 and 12. Each student wrote two essays of at least 200 words on topics designed to test expository, or explanatory writing, and completed an objective…

Thirty-three student teachers were observed in elementary school classrooms to determine if they manifested 16 interactive behaviors identified as desirable by college of education faculty. Teaching assistants used the Georgia Assessment of Teaching Effectiveness (GATE), an instrument which requires the observers to objectively record, but not…

Each of the four Cultural Attitude Scales (CAS) contains fifteen graphic illustrations of the dress, sports, food and popular symbols for the Anglo American, Black American, Mexican American, and Puerto Rican cultures, respectively. Designed to measure ethnic identity or cross-cultural awareness for grades one to six, they do not require reading…