The purpose of this technical report is to describe the Tests of General Ability and Tests of Reading of the Inter-American Series, to give a brief account of their construction, and to present related statistical data. Norms and suggestions on the use and interpretation of the tests are published separately. The Inter-American Series discussed in…

New legislation on education, introduced in Brazil from 1968 to 1971, addresses university entrance requirements and exam characteristics by calling for centralization of exam preparation, examinee registration, test administration, test scoring and result reporting, and the use of objective tests. The Brazilian educational structure has three…

Two models were identified for criterion-referenced tests, one based on the assumption of a continuous achievement variable and the other assuming a dichotomous or binary variable. Several test characteristics were examined and contrasted for the two models, including the distribution of scores, establishment of a cutting score, test length, item…

The nineteenth annual Western Regional Conference on Testing Problems focused on the evaluation of special educational strategies, particularly as they relate to problems of testing and measurement. "Better District Achievement Testing: Its Role" provides suggestions for the improvement of public school district testing programs.…

This brochure contains a summary of an English language testing project being developed by the University of Southern California under the aegis of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Previous attempts (Stanford Achievement Test, California Achievement Test) have failed to test American Indian children's performance in reading, vocabulary, and…

Returns from the Survey of Testing questionnaire, which was mailed to each testing director in the Great Cities Program, are summarized. The Survey includes: 1) information concerning test standardization; 2) information concerning the use of test results; 3) all tests currently used in the Great City Schools. (MS)

The conference theme was "The Promise and Perils of Educational Information Systems," defined as collections of test data on knowledges, skills, interests, and attitudes maintained for the purpose of educational decision making. Topics covered were: "Longer Education: Thinner, Broader, or Higher" (Fritz Machlup); "Testing:…

This report presents the working model for a study to evaluate methods of teaching German in Sweden. The study, which has construction, revision, and normalization phases, involves researchers, textbook authors, publishers, teachers, and students (including a student control group). The questions to be considered are: (1) What verbal intelligence,…

This progress report of the Head Start program in three sample communities in Kansas--Kansas City, Topeka, and Lawrence--contains 1968-1969 data. There are 11 classes in the sample, with 137 eligible children (68 females and 69 males; 81 Negroes; 15 Mexican American, 40 Caucasian, and 1 Other); 46 of the children were under 48 months; 48 were 49…

Maintaining the precision necessary for administering norm referenced tests can be a problem for the special education teacher who is trained to assist the student. Criterion-referenced tests, observations, and interviews are presented as effective alternative assessment techniques. (JDD)

Information is provided on results from the Second International Mathematics Study conducted in 1981-82 in 236 eighth-grade classrooms in the United States. Content taught, teacher characteristics, types of instruction, attitudes, knowledge, and comparisons with students in other countries are discussed. (MNS)

Part 1 of this document describes the background, format, and early groundwork that went into the development of a test sponsored entirely by private enterprise. The discipline imposed by a financial bottom line imposes special pressures but also offers new opportunities. This private enterprise model is a multi-constructional process where…

Discusses which kinds of data educators should respect and which they should reject. Asserts that most state accountability tests fail to produce the kinds of data that will improve teaching and learning. Teachers can get the data they need from their own instructionally useful classroom assessments. (WFA)

A study investigated use of various test accommodations for 3,025 third-graders, 2,990 seventh-graders, and 796 eleventh-graders with disabilities in Missouri. Three accommodations (extended time, small-group administration, and read-aloud) accounted for nearly all of the students using an accommodation. Students using one accommodation were…

This article describes two studies that examined the effects of pictorial and written annotations on second language (L2) vocabulary learning from a multimedia environment. In both studies, students were randomly assigned to one of four aural multimedia groups: a control group that received no annotations, and three treatment groups that provided…