The basic rationale for using standardized tests for college admission, credit, and placement is that they are relevant and reliable. Such tests require the student to demonstrate the kind of competence that schools teach--the kind of competence required to work effectively in the modern world, to develop fully the human potential, and to enjoy…

The author presents his view that the public has not been well informed about the limitations of college entrance examinations. Several educational trends are discussed: (1) since World War II, college admissions testing has underscored the classic American tension between egalitarianism and meritocracy; (2) more students have aspired to attend…

THIS OUTLINE DISCUSSES THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A NEW TELEVISION-BASED SYSTEM OF INSTRUCTION IN AMERICAN SAMOA. AFTER LISTING 12 MAJOR PROBLEMS IN THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM AS OF 1961, THE OUTLINE RAISES POLICY QUESTIONS AND REPORTS ON A PROPOSAL TO APPLY EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY TO THESE PROBLEMS. THE DISCUSSION OF THE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM IS BROKEN DOWN…

The problems associated with the transition from the secondary level to the tertiary level in education have given rise to many surveys, analyses of statistics, research projects, reports and literature reviews. Much has been written on topics such as testing, selection, prediction and wastage, with findings and conclusions which appear to have…

The average scores of high school students on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) have been dropping for the past twelve years. From 1974 to 1975, average scores dropped ten points on the verbal section and eight points on the mathematics section. These dramatic declines, the largest ever reported by the College Entrance Examination Board, have…

The relative predictive abilities of two indices of test anxiety were investigated. The galvanic skin response (GSR) and the Test Anxiety Scale for Children (TASC) were used as predictor variables for IQ and achievement test performance. The results of multiple linear regression analysis indicated that neither the TASC nor the GSR, combined over…

The 1967 Invitational Conference on Testing Problems dealt with various aspects of change in education. Papers presented in Session I, Evaluation and Research in Curriculum Development, were: (1) "Adapting the Elementary School Curriculum to Individual Performance" by Robert Glaser, and (2) "An Evaluation Model for Professional…

The Spanish-speaking school pupulation in the Northeast has grown significantly in size, but not in success in recent years. The Coleman Report revealed widespread and sustained inequality of educational opportunity for Puerto Ricans. However, the limited amount of other research on Puerto Rican students indicates that the problem lies in the…

The measurement of racial attitudes in contemporary America is presented with some serious methodological obstacles. In an attempt to eliminate these obstacles, Sedlacek and Brooks developed the Situational Attitude Scale (SAS) to measure the attitudes of whites toward blacks. It includes two Forms, A and B. The effects of the same individual…

The aim of this paper is to describe the rationale and evaluation of the Black Intelligence Scale of Cultural Homogeneity (BITCH). A "culture specific" test is used to determine the taker's ability to function symbolically or to think in terms of his own culture and environment. A combination of dialect specific and culture specific…

Reviews history and research of sensorimotor and language development in handicapped children, two research studies on the relationship between sensorimotor development and communication status in nonverbal severely mentally retarded subjects, problems using standardized sensorimotor scales, and an alternative approach involving direct measurement…

Several issues facing the measurement community were brought on by the recent emphasis on stricter educational accountability measures. These testing issues include the limits of test scores, effects of testing on instruction, proper test use, importance of the test content, and defining the basics in education. (EGS)

The use of national achievement tests in schools can result in varying degrees of curricular match/mismatch with respect to local curricula. This article explores the types of mismatch which can occur, discusses the inferences made from test scores and their importance, and addresses some implications for the educational community. (EGS)

Issues in alternative assessment for accountability purposes are discussed. Most new forms of performance assessment are linked in the literature, but all alternative forms of assessment do not have the same attributes in terms of technical and feasibility criteria. Tradeoffs in the validity of inferences that can be drawn from alternative…

Six issues of the newsletter of the General Educational Development Testing Service discuss developments of interest to users of the Tests of General Educational Development (GED) in the United States and Canada. The feature article of each issue is: (1) "Survey of Testing Centers Reveals Trends in Access to Technology"; (2)…