Specific recommendations are made concerning the circumstances under which the benefits of out-of-level testing outweigh the problems associated with it. Topics explored are: various methods for deciding when a set of test scores is invalid and the utility of these methods for local evaluators, the accuracy of vertical scaling, and the usefulness…

The primary sample for Year 11 of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) was selected in March 1979, and was preceded by an 18-month planning effort. During the planning period, research concentrated in five specific areas: sampling frame construction, stratification criteria, efficiency study review, techniques and computer…

These newsletters, produced during the second year of activity of a standing committee of the National Council of Teachers of English, focus on standardized testing as it affects the teaching of English. The first newsletter describes committee activities and priorities and includes a bibliography of information on tests and evaluation. The other…

Consideration is given to the degree of congruence between objectives and test items in the evaluation of objective-based testing. An analytic technique that measures congruence is described, and a bibliography is provided. (CK)

A standardized achievement testing program was begun in Alum Rock, California in the fall of 1972 as part of an evaluation of an Educational Voucher Demonstration. During each of the first three years of the demonstration both the form of test administration and the particular level of the standardized achievement test that a student is assigned…

Reviews some of the specific issues that underlie the testing controversy and suggests that it has become increasingly difficult to separate the issue of testing from the realities of a political situation which leaves black children at the mercy of a unified white majority that is often indifferent to their educational welfare. (Author/AM)

There is a great deal to think about in a minimum competency program: What competencies? How to measure? When to measure? One minimum or many? How high the minimum? Minimums for students or for schools? What to do with the incompetent? (Author/IRT)

A variety of methods are used to assess secondary school seniors in Australia to determine college admission: locally-developed achievement tests in curricular subjects; external achievement tests; and general aptitude tests, such as the Australian Scholastic Aptitude Tests. Testing problems include aggregating and rescaling of scores. (GDC)

As the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) has expanded, growing to 26 tests in 8 grades by 2002, new administration procedures have been needed. As these test administration procedures evolved, they were communicated through different avenues. This document consolidates the procedures to facilitate better understanding and more consistent…

Arguing that writing assessment and instruction should inform and influence one another, should evolve together, and should be developed locally, this book presents essays that analyze the development of the writing assessment and instruction program at Washington State University. The essays in the book directly challenge the use of national…

This publication provides guidance for making decisions about the participation in regular assessments of individual students in Alaska with disabilities and with limited English proficiency. It also provides guidance for deciding if a student requires a testing accommodation or an alternate assessment. The regular assessments included…

The article presents a general discussion of assessment and examples of items that assess specific skills. Included are: estimating and approximating; observing and measuring; using data to infer and predict; and graph construction and interpretation. Specific tests are listed. (MK)

The British debate over whether college teaching faculty should also be allowed to test their students, or to participate in curriculum design, is examined in the context of the history of British higher education. The evolution of an external, relatively standardized testing system to promote consistency in achievement standards is chronicled.…

This document summarizes the statewide assessment programs required by the Maryland State Department of Education and the exemptions, excuses, and accommodations permitted for each program. All students are to be included to the fullest extent possible in the mandated state assessments. The accommodations for an individual student are meant to…

Due to the current legislative trend toward competency-based education, and the accompanying minimal competency testing, a variety of local school districts and state education agencies are concurrently developing programs to meet the standards set by their state's legislation. This selective bibliography was compiled in order to aid those…