In considering the development of language arts tests, a distinction can be made between statistical issues and ontological matters involving the objective existence and adequate characterization of the phenomenon being measured. Careful examination of standardized, norm-referenced tests and criterion-referenced tests in the areas of reading and…

A suggestion is made for solving the problem of testing spoken English. The students were from the Economics Department of a university in Finland. Their needs (practical ones), their courses in spoken English, the form of the test--oral, reading, and writing--and the marking system are considered. (SCC)

Two approaches to comprehension are described which attempt to probe the students' real understanding of a prepared passage. In the first method, multiple choice questions were asked based on a 400-word passage; in the second method, a variant of the first, questions are separated into comprehension and phrase vocabulary. (SCC)

The author lists the steps, and the problems involved in developing media or materials for severely handicapped persons. (BD)

Available from: The Division for Children with Learning Disabilities Council for Exceptional Children 1920 Association Drive Reston, Virginia 22091 Identified and related to the educator are four central issues in the field of learning disability: (1) determining the true parameters of the field, (2) monitoring tests and materials presumed…

A discussion of the merits of using pictures, particularly authentic ones, as a component of the evaluation process in foreign language classes. Three reasons are given: pictures provide a setting for testing communication skills; they give a sociocultural context; their use can be student-centered. (Text is in French.) (AMH)

A clinical testing technique involving a latent image transfer process requires the pharmacy student to integrate material from a patient profile and answer interlocking multiple-choice questions. The technique is self-correcting and provides immediate feedback. The cost, preparation, format, problems, illustrations, and a sample question are…

In discussing assessment and its applicability to the needs of Spanish-speaking students, several types of testing approaches are needed. This paper focuses on the use of comprehensive assessment offered by multiple matrix sampling techniques. (SW)

Pretraining on test-taking strategies improved the reliability and predictive power of the Arithmetic Reasoning Test for seventh-grade Chicano students but not for non-Chicano students. Pretraining did not improve the reliability of the Missing Words Test for either group, but appears to have improved the predictive power of this test for both…

Although several vision screening techniques are available for infants, none is routinely used. Visual deficits are often first detected through required preschool vision screenings, which vary in their comprehensiveness. No standardization for testing or administration exists. Some of the testing procedures used may have inappropriately high…

Argues that orienting high school teaching towards the advanced placement test fails, ironically, to prepare students for thinking, writing, and reading skills required in college. Noting that standardized tests promote the (misleading) conception of knowledge as correctness, offers a choice-based method for students to analyze writing function…

Suggests ways a teacher who is interested in performing Piagetian testing might persuade a principal of the validity of the tests, and offers insight into the connection between cognitive development and reading achievement. (JC)

Addresses three questions: (1) What is involved in understanding a word or concept? (2) How do we presently measure word knowledge? (3) What are some alternative formats which teachers could utilize with their students? Suggests techniques such as paired word questions, categorizing, analogies, and sentence writing as ways to evaluate vocabulary…

Developing assessment measures so that the ratings for assignments across teachers will be similar was the goal. What was learned from testing and how valid and relevant assignments might be produced and recognized are described. Survey results are included. MNS)

An Association of American Colleges project is experimenting with alternative approaches to assessing learning in liberal arts majors, focusing on whether written and oral comprehensive examinations administered by external examiners can be acceptable to faculty members. (MSE)