This article reviews the Basic Achievement Skills Individual Screener (BASIS), an individually administered achievement battery that consists of skills tests in reading, mathematics, and spelling as well as an optional writing exercise. BASIS is found to be an effective and efficient means of assessing basic skills. (Author/EGS)

This document consists of the six issues of the newsletter of the General Educational Development Testing (GED) Service published during 1997. The lead articles of the six issues are, respectively: (1) "Task Force Considers Improvements to Test Center Security Rules," by Cathy Allin discusses the implementation of a monitoring team and…

This paper addresses the controversy about use of "out-of-level" testing, the practice of assessing students (usually those with disabilities) with a lower-level version of a test. The controversy pits unintended instructional consequences against "accurately" measuring performance and avoiding student frustration. Introductory…

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.…

Much of the debate on testing over the last two decades has centered on issues of equity. In this review of testing and the minority child, the ways in which schools can test and use test results to help all children learn are explained. (Author)

Examines five themes in "Testing for Competence Rather than for "Intelligence" (D. C. McClelland, "American Psychologist," 1973), and reviews relevant literature. Despite wide acceptance of McClelland's views, other evidence that does not show that competency testing surpasses cognitive ability testing in predicting…

The five chapters of this report provide resources that deal with the validity, generalizability, comparability, performance standards, and fairness, equity, and bias of performance assessments. The book is written for experienced educational measurement practitioners, although an extensive familiarity with performance assessment is not required.…

Presents an open letter to President Clinton regarding his statements about reading standards and testing made in his 1997 State of the Union Address. Points out serious problems in having a national reading standard and trying to get every fourth grader to meet that standard. Discusses problems with curing the so-called reading problem by use of…

Fournier, coordinator of the School Achievement Indicators Program (SAIP), claims that score differences are associated with linguistic and gender differences. These results have long been substantiated. The expectation-setting process has little reliability or validity. SAIP does not help teachers, and should not determine what students learn.…

Thirty-three counselors attending a workshop at the 1988 Annual Convention of the American Association for Counseling and Development were asked to rate six "critical incident" exercises on bias in test content and unfairness in test usage. About two-thirds of the subjects were female, and one-third were male. The subjects ranged in age…

The frequency and diversity of reading and mathematics tests, test approach (norm-referenced or criterion-referenced) and the format of measurement were studied. The contextual variables surrounding test administration and interpretation were examined. The teacher's knowledge of, and attitudes toward, testing were investigated. Results of a…

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…

Today, in this country, there is widespread public support for educational testing, evidenced by the large amount of state minimum competency testing legislation, and recent public opinion surveys. Despite a basically favorable view of standardized testing, parents are concerned about the effects of test anxiety and poor test-taking skills on…

Continuous discourse tracking, when used as a test of the effectiveness of aural rehabilitation strategies, has numerous uncontrolled variables related to the sender, the receiver, the text materials, and repeated presentations. Tracking is inappropriate for across-subject designs, and acceptable for within-subject test designs only when stringent…

Describes some forces that have shaped current attitudes toward evaluation of education, presents five guidelines to help in discussions of assessment, and charges teachers with the responsibility of making evaluation effective. (DF)