Reports a study of children's responses to a passage-dependent reading comprehension test. (HTH)

Stresses the importance of systematically determining children's language dominance before enrolling them in bilingual programs, and evaluates a variety of methods used to determine language dominance. A table listing 25 aural and oral instruments (including rating scales, interview schedules, and parallel tests) is provided. (CW)

Provides a cursory comparison of four popular social studies achievement tests, discusses the relationship between the subject matter and the test, and provides examples of new methods of testing that give the teacher and the class tools for summarizing and interpreting what they are learning as they work together. (Author/IRT)

This article examines 10 critical factors to be considered in selecting a well constructed standardized tests. The 10 factors may serve as model selection criteria for educational practitioners who are responsible for selecting tests for Black students. (Author/DOW)

Prepared as part of a series applying recent research in oral and written communication to classroom practice, this booklet reviews a number of concepts and issues important to communication assessment. The first section of the booklet discusses several issues related to assessing communication at both district and classroom levels. Issues…

Screening refers here to the process of making an initial selection of those who need further diagnostic evaluations. A screening process which effectively selects true learning disability (LD) cases from a population reduces the number of incorrectly selected non-LD children who would be needlessly given costly psychoeducational evaluations.…

Evaluated 11 of the most popular tests used by school psychologists in Illinois as to their technical adequacy along three dimensions: norms, reliability, and validity. Results suggested that the most popular tests used by school psychologists are not typically technically adequate devices. (Author)

A liberal interpretation of Section 151 of Public Law 93-380, to implement effective local evaluation of Title I programs, is supported. Weaknesses are cited: (1) nationwide impact data, (2) unsound aggregation of Title I achievement gains, and (3) lack of consideration of alternative evaluation methods. (MH)

An experiment investigated the extent to which the results of out-of-level testing may be biased because the child given an out of level test may have had a significantly different curriculum than the children given in-level tests. Item analysis data suggested this was unlikely. (CTM)

When selecting standardized reading tests for purposes of decision making, the school psychologist must answer several questions, such as "What reading skills do I wish to assess?" or "How do I judge if the test is technically adequate?" Recommendations for test selection are made within the context of these questions.…

To meet several pre-evaluation goals of the national Emergency School Aid Act (ESAA) Evaluation study, the following activities that were undertaken are described: selection of an achievement measure; a pretest of this measure to assess student needs in schools eligible to receive funds under the Act (schools with a minority enrollment of 50…

The Language Assessment Battery was administered to third to fifth grade limited English speaking students in New York City. Special techniques addressed two common problems in testing these populations: (1) language tests suitable for limited English speakers change their psychometric characteristics over time as the students' language ability…

The development of the Student Selection Battery for the Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study is described. This battery, which measures reading and mathematics achievement in second and fifth grade students, will be used to select target students for the study of teaching effectiveness. Methodological considerations included: the limited amount of…