Educators are called upon to improve the quality of classroom tests to enhance the learning of content. Less faculty concern for tests than for other features of instruction, compounded by a lack of knowing how to assess different levels of learning with test questions that measure complex processes, appear to generate poor quality classroom…

Questionnaires concerning the users of educational tests were returned by 87 school superintendents in the United States and 228 members of the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME). Most NCME respondents were associated with colleges. The NCME sample represented measurement experts, while the superintendents represented…

Although much has been written about educational evaluation, few guidelines exist for consumers--project directors, school administrators, curriculum developers, legislators, teachers, parents, and boards of education. Several cautions surface from a review of the literature. First, tests that are based on program objectives are most useful to…

This paper concerns the projected changes suggested for testing in the future by the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB). A Commission on Tests is held desirable, the general purpose of which is to describe a comprehensive series of testing activities supporting the large-scale distribution of students among college level institutions in the…

This paper discusses the use of tests by American teachers over the past six decades. A representative sample of the research centering on the linkage between testing and teaching is cited. (LMO)

This article describes a number of problems every educational measurement specialist should be prepared to confront before using microcomputers to support test-related activities, including problems with hardware, with software, and with implementing a system. It concludes with a checklist for planning a microcomputer application. (BW)

This report reviews the historical development of out-of-level testing, from its inception in Title I evaluation work during the 1960s, to the present day when the widespread use of assessments or district and school accountability has been combined with requirements for including all students in assessments. This report examines the historical…

The Raven Coloured Progressive Matrices and a Piagetian battery were administered to a sample of hearing-impaired elementary school children under six different conditions. Results indicated that scores varied as a function of the degree and type of feedback or elaboration. (JKS)

A look at the history of intelligence testing suggests that those most closely allied with intelligence testing were often least able to see the larger issues. Input is needed from those who have examined broader currents in the history and sociology of ideas. New ideas must be cultivated to avoid redundancy in the field. (SLD)

Summarizes interviews with 60 Indiana superintendents and principals concerning the effects of statewide student achievement testing on the operation of schools or school systems. It describes side effects from the testing, noting they are so numerous and severe they may be worse than the problems they are supposed to cure. (SM)

Examines the appropriateness of a cut-off score derived from the Angoff procedure for a reading test in the United Kingdom. Shows that the recommended cut-off score is too low. Suggests ways that standard setting might draw on a range of information to produce appropriate and rationally defensible cut-off scores. (DSK)

Provides information on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in music. Discusses the "red flags," such as test sampling, from the "Arts Report Card" that signal doubt as to the usefulness of its data. Considers the lessons learned from the "Arts Report Card." (CMK)

The FairTest Examiner is a quarterly newsletter that discusses the appropriate use of tests and test results. Many of the features address recent events in the field of educational testing reform. The bulletin's regular features include: current news items, a list of recommended reading material, a listing of FairTest personnel, announcements of…

This document describes the theory and practice of testing; illuminates competing interests in a balanced fashion; and helps those who make decisions with tests or about testing to reach better-informed judgments. Part 1, the report of the Committee, presents a wide-ranging discussion of testing issues. The text has been kept largely free of the…