In recent years, a number of educators have challenged the usefulness of SAT and ACT tests as indicators of college readiness, and some institutions have stopped requiring college entrance examinations altogether. The purpose of this trustee guide is to acquaint trustees with the history and use of college entrance tests and the arguments for and…

This handbook will assist principals and school testing coordinators in implementing the spring 2007 administration of the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA). Information regarding administration timeline, reporting, process, online tools and contact personnel is discussed. Contents include: (1) Scheduling; (2) Identify Primary Test…

Intended for use by school administrators, guidance counselors, teachers, and proctors, this manual contains general information on Regents examinations and competency tests. Specifically, the regulations and procedures for ordering, administering, and rating these examinations are described. Information is also included about the competency…

Nevada statutes and administrative regulations specifically prohibit the disclosure of the content of examinations used in the Nevada Proficiency Examination Program. This document focuses on procedures to insure examination security. The state's test security requirements are outlined. Other sections deal with access to and copying of examination…

This report presents factors to consider in the design of computer-based testing for all students, including students with disabilities and students with limited English proficiency. It also provides a process for the initial transformation of paper/pencil assessments to inclusive computer-based testing. Steps include: (1) assemble a group of…

This monograph serves as a nontechnical guide to teachers, counselors, school psychologists, administrators, parents, and others who use the 1974 Standards for Educational and Psychological Tests. The Standards are a concise summary of standards and guidelines for the development, evaluation, interpretation, use, and reporting of information on…

This paper focuses on challenges to psychologists and psychology graduate students who are blind or visually impaired in the administration and scoring of various psychological tests. Organized by specific tests, the paper highlights those aspects of testing which pose particular difficulty to testers with visual impairments and also describes…

American schools face pressure to increase their students' test scores. Research reports have shown American students to be particularly stressed over test taking partially because of other outside interests in their lives that also take up time. This paper offers tips to help students relieve stress arising from the testing situation. Students…

This guide is divided into four parts. Part I, an introduction, contains a discussion of why item banking has failed thus far to become a widely accepted procedure for test development, as well as some miscellaneous information on item banking that may be useful. In Part 2, completed questionnaires from 22 organizations with item banks give…

This article discusses the structure of a committee that evaluates assessments for students with visual impairments and the process by which the committee arrives at its recommendations to test developers and administrators. Concerns and preferred practices that have been revealed by the committee's two years of experience are discussed. (CR)

Computers are used to manage assessment information for special education students and to administer, score, and interpret tests. Although the content validity of computer-administered assessment instruments may have certain practical limitations, several useful advantages can be gained by using computer-administered tests, including real-time…

Court cases are presented that illustrate some of the issues that courts have dealt with in the area of educational testing. While this study was developed primarily for parents, the booklet should also help school administrators and testing professionals learn about court cases and precedents relevant to some major issues in educational testing.…

The article emphasizes the application of minimum testing programs to deaf students and provides background information regarding the nature of minimum competency testing programs and on major issues regarding implementation and use of testing procedures. Information regarding the development of minimum competency testing programs for deaf…

This report discusses deep curriculum alignment and is designed to serve as a practical guide to an educational strategy that embraces the philosophy of "what is tested is what is taught." Chapter 1 describes misconceptions and misuses of rhetoric about public education, popular myths about tests, and the nature of curriculum alignment.…

This manual is intended to provide Illinois school districts with guidance in developing learning assessment plans and using testing materials as part of the school improvement program mandated by the 1985 educational reform legislation for Illinois. Designed primarily to be a series of "how to" booklets, the manual is divided into six…