The author of "The Tyranny of Testing" discusses his objections to standardized testing. (IRT)

This study focuses on standardized test administration in five elementary schools. The authors discuss how teachers affect test validity by altering standard test procedures in both planned and incidental ways. Each of the 16 voluntary teachers who participated in this study was observed in her/his classroom administering certain subtests of the…

Students watching instructional television become visually oriented to the material presented, learning it by visual rather than verbal association. Yet most tests given to determine student comprehension are verbal. To resolve this inconsistency, the author proposes visual testing, a procedure which he explains and whose usefulness he illustrates…

The adequacy of a test developed for statewide assessment of basic mathematics skills was investigated. The test, comprised of multiple-choice items reflecting a series of behavioral objectives, was compared with a more extensive criterion measure generated from the same objectives by the application of a strict item sampling model. In many…

The predictive ability of a mathematics test organized into a branching test for computer-interactive administration was investigated. Twenty-five blocks of five items were used in the branching. Each testee took 25 items, with each subsequent block being determined by prior performance. Results supported the branching technique. (JKS)

The effects of performance-enhancing modifications of testing procedures of a Piagetian-type instrument were investigated for samples of elementary school-aged White, Black, and Mexican-American children. Results are discussed in terms of test validity. (JKS)

Reports correlations between the High School Personality Questionnaire and various indices of school achievement and compares the validities with prior studies. Uses three achievement scores: self-reported high-school grades, parent-reported high-school grades several years after the testing, and college grades several years after the testing. The…

Reports on the first phases of an American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages project to develop a computerized adaptive test of reading proficiency. The theoretical multidimensionality of the construct is clarified, and its implications for test development, item calibration, and validation procedures are discussed. (Author/SED)

Considers the extent to which a testing task can be made authentic so that it constitutes an example of normal and natural language behavior on the part of both examiner and candidate. Also considers the effects on test validity and the correct interpretation of test results if a test cannot be made authentic. (SED)

Article presented a true story of how two cities ran testing programs and the lessons that can be learned from their failures. (Editor/RK)

Large-scale testing programs are generally based on the assumptions that the test-takers experience standard conditions for taking the test and that everyone will do his or her own work without having prior knowledge of specific questions. These assumptions are not necessarily true. The ways students and educators use to get around standardizing…

Offers opposing views on the value of mass testing in English. (JL)