The utilization of the third grade achievement data reported by the California Assessment Program (CAP) to schools was studied. All elementary school principals in California were surveyed in 1979 regarding the uses they made of the report. Over 70 percent used their score reports to compare results across years looking for trends. Other common…

The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to discuss the variety of factors which should be considered in establishing a testing program; and (2) to summarize some of the basic features of testing programs in Wisconsin public school districts. An effective district-wide testing program should consist of at least the following seven elements:…

Since 1969 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reports on the scholastic achievements of the nation's elementary and secondary level students have been appearing frequently. The reactions to these reports are a perplexing mix of acclaim and criticism, of expressed respect but apparently slight regard. This study assesses NAEP and…

Basic skills achievement test results of pupils in the Philadelphia School District, based upon the February 1979 Philadelphia City-Wide Testing Program involving kindergarten through grade 12, are reported. The city and district performance distributions show the combined percentages of pupils in scoring within various national percentile rank…

Developed as an easy to use reference on test data for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), this report is divided into two sections: analysis of county data and analysis of school data. Features of the report are as follows: (1) a longitudinal analysis of performance of students tested in MCPS in 1976, 1978 and 1980; (2) school results broken…

A SMALL HIGH SCHOOL IS DEFINED AS ONE WITH AN ENROLLMENT OF 150 STUDENTS OR LESS IN GRADES 7-12 OR IN GRADES 9-12. THE MINIMUM GUIDANCE PROGRAM STANDARDS FOR SMALL HIGH SCHOOLS, AS PRESCRIBED BY THE NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING REQUIREMENTS--(1) ONE PERSON WITH A MINIMUM OF SIX SEMESTER HOURS IN GUIDANCE MUST BE…

The evaluation of a testing program is necessary before or during a sound total project evaluation. Ideally, the testing program study should be concurrent with, and equal in magnitude to, the total project evaluation. Step one in an evaluation is to define the testing program's objectives in operational terms. Step two is a thorough description…

The major part of the newsletter contains a summary of the results of the administration of tests in science and writing to students aged 9, 13, 17, and to adults 26 - 35 in all regions of the United States. The data are compared on the basis of regions (North East, South East, Central, and Western); sex of respondent and size of community (big…

The use of tests to equate knowledge, experience, and skill with prescribed levels of formal training, and to match people with jobs on the basis of measurable ability to perform them, has received increasing attention by those concerned with manpower shortages in health-related occupations. Basic to the concept of career mobility is the need to…

Legislation enacted to attain educational accountability is discussed. At present, 23 states have such enactments. The major kinds of accountability enacted in each of these states are one or more of the following: PPBS, MIS, Uniform Accounting, Testing, Evaluation of Professional Employees, and Performance Contracting. The three most frequently…

The purpose of this preliminary report was to provide information on the New Approach Method, on program effectiveness which can be used for decision-making. The first fifty children, half boys, half girls, were tested for attitudes toward Reading-Related Activities. Immaturity of children caused a delay in the completion of this program, since…

Steps in the development of a Nucleus Testing Committee to assist in the development of a system-wide testing program in the Madison, Wisconsin, school system are described. Over 60 participants were selected for the committee, using the following selection guidelines: interest in the project and the role to be assumed, commitment to the school…

As part of a process of restructuring a city-wide testing program in Madison, Wisconsin, members of the school staff were surveyed concerning their perception of priorities for a testing program. The survey list, presented in Table I, was developed from a pool of items contributed by representative members of the staff. As a result of the survey,…

Details the development of item pools, or collections of test exercises, including specifying the domain of content; collecting/writing items; pilot testing; and publishing. Implications of item pools for guidance workers are presented. (BP)

This discussion of the mathematics portion of the examination includes topics covered, test development, and sample questions. (MP)