A series of questions designed to challenge school administrators to reconsider the purposes, selection, use, and interpretation of tests and test results in their school programs. (Author/DN)

The unit provides an introduction to employment service testing for supervisors, interviewers, and employer relations personnel who need a basic knowledge of testing but who do not need to be test technicians. It may also be used as an introductory course for test examiners and counselors. The first part of the guide is an orientation to…

This paper reports the results of a survey conducted in the spring of l981 that was designed to collect and summarize guidelines on appropriate test use from the various organizations, agencies, and associations involved in standardized educational testing. The primary objective of the study was to learn how these various groups define the issues…

A statement of the major issues surrounding the use of standardized tests in schools is provided, covering the following areas of concern: (1) the major types of standardized tests and how they differ from teacher-made tests; (2) the role of standardized tests in education; (3) administering/scoring standardized tests; (4) interpretation of…

This is the third in a series of investigations, conducted at five-year intervals, into the testing programs of Michigan school districts. The report opens with general data on testing programs and practices in the form of a tabulation of responses to a survey instrument completed by 84% of the districts that operate a K-12 program. A more…

This document reports on the procedures and results of the Atlanta Public Schools (APS) testing program in changing from the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS), administered to grades 1 through 7 from 1973-79, to the California Achievement Tests (CAT), Form C, administered in Spring 1980 to provide a continuous testing program from the elementary…

Results are presented for the 1985-86 administration of achievement tests in the Atlanta (Georgia) Public Schools. The following norm-referenced, standardized tests were administered: California Achievement Tests (CAT) in kindergarten; Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) in grades 1 to 8; and Tests of Achievement and Proficiency (TAP) in grades 9 to…

This guide is part of a series designed to assist school personnel to profile their data to support local school decisions. The profiling process can be used in school improvement programs. This particular guide describes the measurement of student attitudes toward schooling, about one's schools performance, about feelings toward school as a place…

Intended for use by employment and training staff, especially test coordinators and administrators, counselors, and instructors, this guidebook provides an understanding of eight essential tasks in planning and implementing a testing and assessment program. It is divided into three parts. The introductory section explains the purposes of the book,…

Specifying the purpose and uses to be made of a test prior to administration is of paramount importance when one considers the time administrators and teachers spend on selecting, developing, administering and scoring tests and the amount of student time required to complete the tests. Determination of how test results will be used should be made…

The relationship between the Instructional Process, Instructional Objectives, and Assessment Tasks, identified at the School City of Gary, Indiana, necessitate an effective testing program. Four characteristics perceived crucial to a sound program were: (1) The program should be continuous, (2) The testing program should be comprehensive, (3)…

A method of developing measurement instruments to assess academic achievement in proficiency-based education is presented. Materials and exercises are sequenced to correspond to major activities which must be completed in developing local assessment systems. The exercises contained in this workshop guide have been field tested and can be followed…

A guide is presented to the various uses of Comprehensive Achievement Monitoring (CAM), a computer-based instructional management system which provides relevant data on course objectives to elementary and secondary teachers and students after students are tested. Among the uses discussed are: student coupons, which list objectives on which the…

This report is the final one in a trilogy stemming from the 1968 Summer Reading Institute in the Washington Model School Division. The Institute was designed to meet the needs of elementary school teachers in their attempts to teach language skills and reading to students in grades K-3. This follow-up study examines the results of the Summer…

A survey was conducted among Ontario, Canada teachers, administrators, and parents regarding the following aspects of French-language achievement testing: which standardized and criterion-referenced tests were used; who developed the tests; how test results were used; how school boards communicated test results to parents; what trends existed in…