The testing effect is a phenomenon that may be described as follows: following the reading of a prose passage, a group of students who are given a posttest on the passage immediately or shortly afterward will later recall more of the passage on a retention test than will a similar group of students who are not given the posttest. Testing as a…

Cloze tests assess the readability of a book for students in a far more personal way than formulas or standardized tests of reading comprehension. The cloze procedure reflects the total language abilities in the following ways: familiarity with sentence structure, context clues, and vocabulary, and the ability to draw inferences from written…

A program was developed at the University of Pittsburgh to improve the English language proficiency of foreign teaching assistants (TA's) in order to alleviate communication problems between them and the undergraduates in their classes. Three aspects of the program are described: (1) interdepartmental procedures, (2) testing procedures, and (3)…

Practical and technical aspects of language testing research are considered in 23 articles. Topical areas include: testing of general proficiency; the hypothesis of a single unitary factor accounting for reliable variance in tests; the structure of language proficiency; pros and cons of cloze testing; a new functional testing approach; and…

The Comprehensive School Mathematics Program (CSMP) is a program of CEMREL, Inc., one of the national educational laboratories, and was funded by the National Institute of Education (NIE). Its major purpose is the development of curriculum materials for kindergarten through grade 6. One of the most important questions in the evaluation of CSMP is…

The HPI Texas Preschool Screening Inventory (TPSI) is a test to help determine which children might be a risk for learning problems as they enter kindergarten or first grade. The HPI Manual describes the procedure, score interpretation, and rationale for seven components of the test, including auditory memory for numbers and letters, visual memory…

Teachers' perspectives on the student assessment process and on the role of testing in that process are presented. Primarily ethnographic in approach, this study includes investigations of teachers' ideas and thought processes as well as observation of actual classroom practice. Six elementary teachers participated in a three-stage process of…

Following a brief discussion of some characteristics of the Amish culture and schools, data from the Iowa Test of Basic Skills are reported for 23 pupils in grades 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8 in Pleasant Hill School near Bloomfield, Iowa. Thirteen pupils scored at or above the fifteenth percentile in mathematics concepts; 17 were at or above that level in…

This bulletin reports some of the findings from an analysis of assessments in mathematics that have been conducted in 32 states. Note is made of the variability in state reports, which make data comparisons implausible. Trends, however, could be observed. Each state department was contacted for a copy of the most recent mathematics assessment…

The effect of cooperative test-taking (CT) on the achievement and attitudes of college seniors was investigated. The students (n=46) were randomly assigned to one of two sections of a course in measurement. They worked on projects in randomly assigned groups of four or five students. One section took frequent cooperative quizzes, while the other…

During the 1976-77 academic year the Alexandria City Schools conducted a project to upgrade social skills of its students. Experimental and control groups were established at grades 7-8, grades 9-10, and grades 11-12. Although pretests were administered to both groups, only the experimental group received the results of their tests. Instructions…

Four cities in Virginia conducted projects to upgrade social studies skills of their students. This evaluation guide explains the project in Fairfax County Schools during the 1976-1977 academic year. Experimental and control groups were established at grades 7-8, grades 9-10, and grades 11-12. Although pretests were administered to both groups,…

One of four projects conducted in Virginia during the 1976-1977 school year, this guide describes the project in Roanoke City Schools to upgrade social studies skills. Experimental and control groups were established at grades 7-8, grades 9-10, and grades 11-12. Although pretests were administered to both groups, only the experimental group…

Virginia sponsored four evaluation projects during the 1976-1977 academic year. Four city school districts conducted projects to upgrade social studies skills of their students. This guide explains the conduct of that project in Chesterfield County Public Schools. Experimental and control groups were established at grades 7-8, grades 9-10, and…

The report on preliminary administration of the AEBLE (Assessment of Environmental Barriers to Leisure Experiences) instrument to 18 orthopedically impaired children reveals five factors (all but the family support) to be considered problems: community reaction resources, architectural barriers, accessible and available transportation, community…