Given that teaching Arabic, as a second language has become increasingly significant in the present context, it follows that there is an urgent and pressing need to develop efficient learning tools as well as adequate measuring tools for testing the learner's development. There are numerous problems associated with measuring a learner's…

The tests we use to evaluate student achievement may well be sound measures of what students know, but they are faulty indicators at best of how well they have been taught. A remedy to this this situation of judging teachers by the performance of their students on high-stakes tests may be in hand already. We should look to the methods successfully…

This study emerges from the need of English Language Teachers in Sudan and Jordan to lay appropriate assessment strategies to meet the anticipated educational objectives among the learners of English. It is also hoped to improve language assessment in similar educational environments in the Arab world. We intended to find out the level of…

Researches and educators' recognition of positive and negative effects of tests on teaching and learning activities goes back at least four decades. Although educators frequently claim that they do not want to teach to a test, the reality is that every educator wants his/her students to be successful. Decision makers, teachers, and students equate…

This article describes the gathered experience in using corpora in an IELTS preparation course. The practice demonstrates an attempt to reduce negative washback effects occurring when preparation courses just concentrate on the test format neglecting the importance of development of learners' language skills and general study skills. Some…

In this essay, Betty J. Sternberg argues that the increased money and time spent on meeting the summative testing requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) adds little to the existing "gold standard" testing conducted by the State of Connecticut. Sternberg highlights the challenges faced by one state in meeting the requirements…

This chapter outlines the purpose of testing and assessment, focusing on uses, and highlights some of the limitations of all forms of testing. The concept of testing is one of the major contributions of the field of psychology to society. Carefully developed tests, when used wisely, provide valuable information for decision makers in educational,…

Because of the importance of standardized test scores in current definitions of educational achievement, pressure to raise test scores has affected their accuracy. Examines the causes of two major sources of test score pollution and their impact on education. Discusses the ethical status of documented test-preparation activities. (CJS)

An experienced teacher spends too much time as a special-events coordinator facilitating movement among tests, instead of encouraging and enhancing student learning. For each test, she must rearrange the classroom and its routines, coordinate test materials, and assuage her third graders' fears. Teachers lack time to improve their practice. (MLH)

If used effectively, portfolios can be both an assessment tool and an integral part of instruction, while overcoming some attendant standardized-testing problems. New reading, writing, and mathematics assessment standards focus on student learning, reflection and critical inquiry, and integration of literacy skills with students' home, school, and…

Although the literature on effective schools has been replete with information regarding a new paradigm for assessment, some teachers and schools have found it difficult to implement and sustain classroom practices that take them beyond testing discrete knowledge. The reasons for this struggle are as much educational as they are political.…

In 1998, the British Government introduced the National Literacy Strategy (NLS) in all state primary schools (encompassing students aged 5-11) in England in a bid to raise literacy standards. A year earlier, 13 local education authorities were involved in the piloting of the project, including the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. The first Newcastle…

This paper describes what teachers need to know about performance assessment to do it well. First, they should know what performance assessment is and why anyone should care. One thing that has to be emphasized is that there are two parts to a performance assessment: the tasks and the criteria. Teachers tend to be better at developing rich and…

The use of standardized achievement tests as the primary criterion measures in the evaluation of basic skills programs has been criticized. In a comparative study of three types of tests, this article examines the major issue behind this criticism. (Author/JAZ)

The question examined in this paper is: what is known exactly about variables that affect long-term retention of knowledge learned in school? U. Neisser (1982) asserts that "it is difficult to find even a single study, ancient or modern, of what is retained from academic instruction." Further, popular belief holds that much of the knowledge…