Looks at ERIC documents that deal with readability concerns. (FL)

Discusses factors which lead to the overuse of and overreliance on standardized tests in the United States. (MM)

Reports on what started out to be a survey of the use of the informal reading inventory (IRI) by teachers that revealed the technique to be embedded in a complex environment. Concludes that the use of IRIs and other diagnostic methods can be limited when teachers do not have primary responsibility for making placement decisions. (FL)

The factorial structure of the California Achievement Test subtests appears to consist of only one common factor in each grade. This study indicates that there is considerable overlap among the subtests and that there is minimal support for the use of subtest scores as measures of independent constructs. (Author/PN)

Argues that giving students a reading test that is above or below their levels of achievement will yield inaccurate information. (FL)

A survey, designed to take approximately 15 minutes to complete, was administered to 1,656 elementary school teachers in Michigan to obtain information on a variety of topics related to student assessment and mandated state testing. Most of the teachers were employed in small suburban or urban schools, and 88% were employed in the public schools.…

Learning disabled, emotionally disturbed, and unclassified male students tested when 6 to 11 years of age with the Elizur Test of Psycho-Organicity were reassessed four years later. The test-retest reliability, subtest reliabilities, and pattern of subtest intercorrelations were found to be stable, but individual subtest scores should be used with…

Examines the arguments against the indiscriminate use of readability formulas. (FL)

The motor performance components of 11 tests measuring childhood motor development were analyzed with respect to five criteria listed in the American Psychological Association's Standards for Educational and Psychological Tests. Researchers concluded that the motor tests did not contribute to psychological constructs for early childhood testing.…

Twenty-four French-speaking students in a northeast Ontario (Canada) elementary school were administered an intelligence test in grades three, five, and eight. Significant differences among the three testings raise concerns about the practice of intelligence testing among cultural minority populations. Such tests should not be administered to all…

Examines the extent to which kindergarten pupil and teacher behaviors during administration of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills--Early Primary Battery may compromise the meaningfulness and usefulness of the test scores. Although extensive variability in behavior was observed, most teachers followed directions exactly and most pupils encountered no…

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…

Findings are reviewed from a descriptive study which evaluated special education placement of Hispanic students. A clinical case study approach was used to analyze student characteristics from individual program folders, and policy and practice were examined. The appropriateness of the data, expertise of the professionals, and the role of the…

How standardized achievement and mental ability tests are used in the schools, and what parents and teachers think about such testing, were investigated. Guided inventories were administered to 207 teachers from 10 schools and to 223 parents from 12 Parent-Teacher Association groups. Intensive individual interviews were conducted with 15 testing…

Using age norms in the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability-Revised assessments of reading ability can distort the diagnosis of reading difficulty, as evidenced in the assessment practices of the New South Wales (Australia) Department of Education. Grade-normative data (year-level norms) and abandoning the reporting of precise reading scores are…