Responding to Gregory Cizek's critique of the "faddishness" of direct assessment methods, this article urges a more constructive debate about the pressing issues of costs versus benefits, the place of face validity in test design, the differing needs in assessment data reporting, and assessment methods that actually improve school…

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)

Since the state board adopted the Standards of Learning, Virginia high-school teachers maintain tighter schedules and more often use direct instruction instead of group activities to cover the new curriculum. A two-edged sword, the SOL has engendered an increased interest in professional collaboration. (MLH)

This article discusses how test preparation helps students with deafness to develop the skills required to do well on standardized reading tests by examining test-taking strategies and common language structures used in test items. Common errors made by students are listed and helpful remedial classes are discussed. (Contains four references.)…

Explores the primary characteristics and issues in the development of school-based standard testing, reviews the typical lack of qualification for political accountability programs, and suggests remedies to address major problems. Problems in the evolution of current techniques have resulted in a general skepticism toward new approaches of…

Evaluation anxiety can have a significant impact on adult learning, and it is a generally inescapable part of teaching-learning transactions. Too much evaluation anxiety can be devastating. This paper examines the effects of evaluation anxiety on adult learning, discussing the causes, the control measures, and the implications for adult educators.…

Outlines each of the papers presented in this special section, describes difficulties the arguments posed, and raises questions that might be put to the author of each of these discussions of new assessment methods in mathematics. Implications for the technology for the development of performance assessments are discussed. (SLD)

Compares critical curriculum issues from 1988 to the current situation. Finds that standards, measurement, and testing still shape curriculum and are still strongly pushed by policymakers; opposition to teaching evolution is stronger; curriculum fads remain a problem; and a backlash against standardized tests may be forming. (SK)

Although educator cheating (mostly to "help" students) is more commonplace, it should not be tolerated. The best course is building assessment systems with integrity. Several cheating types, such as the self-aggrandizing teacher and pocket-lining administrator, are explained. A sidebar lists eight systemic problems with testing. (MLH)

Tells a story of woodcrafters' city as a metaphor for testing and learning in today's educational system. Considers the structure of organized education addressing standards, logic and science. (SG)

Discusses four books that provide critical information about the nature of high-stakes tests; the impact of these tests on teaching, learning, and students; the political issues surrounding high-stakes testing; and ways that educators can take informed action to appropriately respond to these tests. (SG)

A study compared the performance of 15 children (ages 5-12) with visual impairments and 15 controls on the Comprehension and Similarities items of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised. Results indicated the children with visual impairments were disadvantaged by comprehension-type items with high visual content. (CR)

Discusses research on the National Curriculum Key Stage Two reading tests for years 1998, 1999 and 2000. Shows that in 1999 and 2000 the reading tests were progressively easier: the number of questions requiring higher-order reading skills, particularly those of inference and deduction, decreased each year, while the number of questions requiring…

Explores how social, legal, and demographic forces threaten to dethrone the most widely used college entrance exam. New criticism focuses on the use of what is essentially an IQ test to measure students' ability to learn. (EV)

Using generalizability theory, this study examined both the rating variability and reliability of ESL students' writing in the provincial English examinations in Canada. Three years' data were used in order to complete the analyses and examine the stability of the results. The major research question that guided this study was: Are there any…