This guide is intended to help teachers administer tests to adult students so that the students achieve the highest possible test results. The booklet is divided into five sections. The first section reminds the teacher of the various differences in and needs of the adult learner, while the second section gives some tips on how to conduct a…

Although the realities of higher education accurately match the aims of early educators, there are limits to our ability to measure the learning that occurs in colleges and universities. As higher education has been made available to a greater quantity of participants, the demand for accountability has increased. Accountability concerns vary for…

Both norm-referenced and criterion-referenced interpretations of student, school, district, and state testing data can be improved by customizing the traditional norm-referenced test. Improvements that can be made include: (1) increasing the relevance of the test to the curriculum and (2) having greater confidence in the national comparative…

The extent to which national performance on an achievement test battery changed over a 4-year period was studied, and the comparative performance of students in school districts taking the test series for the first time was compared with that of students in districts that had used the battery at least once in one or more grades. The seventh…

Information was gathered about current state interest, activity, and concerns related to performance assessment for students. The Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing of the University of California (Los Angeles) conducted telephone interviews with directors of testing in each of the 50 states in the spring of 1990.…

This fact sheet provides guidelines on adapting testing situations for disabled postsecondary students. Discussed in the first section are considerations in determining when testing adaptations are needed including disability verification procedures, policy consistency, and maintenance of academic and technical standards. Facts about disabilities…

This brief monograph, intended for preschool teachers and administrators, explains various aspects of the assessment and evaluation of children and early childhood education programs. The value of evaluation procedures for program development is noted. The different forms that research designs and tests can take are explained. It is emphasized…

Approximately 3,300 teachers and 72,000 students in grades K-12 were surveyed regarding their general opinions and feelings towards standardized achievement tests. For purposes of analysis, teacher and student questionnaire responses were divided into three groups: (1) public schools systems with fewer than 500 students per grade; (2) public…

The nature and common uses of standardized achievement tests are described and placed in context in order to evaluate claims and criticisms that are commonly made. Tests are described as samples of behavior and hence subject to sampling errors. Much of the debate is dominated by emotion and prejudices. There is very little empirical evidence about…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) item development procedures, possible improvements or alternatives to these procedures, and methods used to control potential sources of errors of interpretation are described. Current procedures call for the assessment of 9-, 13- and 17-year-olds in subject areas typically taught in schools.…

The charge that minimum competency testing provides diagnosis without treatment is refuted. The movement has made no attempt to dictate course content or teaching methods; it leaves treatment decisions to individual teachers. Treatment can be defined only in relation to a problem. The problem, as minimum competency advocates implicitly define it,…

The main purpose of this paper is to facilitate discussion of important issues concerning validity and to work toward a framework that the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Board Research Committee will find useful in assigning priorities and initiating projects. The background, scope, and meaning of the concept of the "validity" of the…

The role of testing has received a great deal of criticism over the years. Some steps have been taken to develop more universal items into the test. One innovation was the introduction of the multiple choice exam. Yet even with this type of aptitude test, the majority of questions and plausible answers have become quite involved and intense. All…

The article identifies major events that have impacted on public policy toward testing during the last 20 years. Events were classified, and an interpretation of the interrelationship of events was made. Events were classified as stemming from writings of individual authors, publications of professional organizations, and actions taken by the…

The Inter-American Test of General Abilities (TOGA) for bilingual children has parallel Spanish and English forms which have been used to determine language proficiency and dominance. Generally, there has been little emphasis on measuring such physical test features as size, spacing, color, and typeface. The purpose of this study was to determine…