This study investigated the convergent and discriminant validity of the high-stakes Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) in both reading and writing at grade levels 4, 8, and 10. The data from the 2006 FCAT administration were analyzed via traditional multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) analysis to identify the factor structure and structural…

Contends that there is no literacy crisis, and that the means for solving it have been manufactured to increase corporate profits, and increase the power of the Pentagon to ensure these profits. (JAD)

This paper assessed the relationships among holistic writing ability, the Test of Standard Written English, and four tests of organizational ability. Findings showed a significant correlation between writing ability and the tests. It was concluded that tests assessing organizational strategies ought to be included in assessments of writing…

An investigation of: (1) the relationship between the American College Test (ACT) English Usage Test scores and demonstrated writing proficiency, and (2) the relationships between and among other objective tests and writing proficiency was undertaken, using three samples of college freshmen. Although results indicated a moderately high…

In 1981, the Faculty Senate, at an upper division midwestern university, initiated the consideration of a literate skills testing program to address variance in academic level of the entering undergraduate student. The policy stipulated that all undergraduate students admitted to a degree program must demonstrate competency in writing and…

The Test of Standard Written English was found to be nearly as valid as the California State University and Colleges English Placement Test, while requiring one-fifth of the time. Both tests were more valid than the Scholastic Aptitude Test-Verbal in predicting English composition grades. (JKS)

The Test of Standard Written English (TSWE) is a 50-item multiple choice instrument designed to assess the ability of college students to use English. In this study, based upon a sample of 45 students, the TSWE was revalidated with writing samples. The coefficient of 0.54 was most impressive given that the TSWE scores were restricted to those…

For a sample of more than 900 college students and subsamples of at least 50 students in each of nine departments, concurrent validity coefficients were determined between scores on several examinations reflecting competencies in standard written English and an external criterion measure of cumulative college grade point average. (Author/CTM)

Six university English departments collaborated in this examination of the differences between multiple-choice and essay tests in evaluating writing skills. The study also investigated ways the two tools can complement one another, ways to improve cost effectiveness of essay testing, and ways to integrate assessment and the educational process.…

The relationships among scores on traditional college entrance tests and scores on an essay placement test for women and men and four ethnic groups were examined. The tests correlated highly with essay performance. However, women tended to be underestimated and men and ethnic minorities overestimated by these measures. (Author/PN)

Over 2,000 writing samples were collected from four undergraduate institutions and compared, where possible, with scores on a multiple-choice test. High correlations between ratings of the writing samples and multiple-choice test scores were obtained. Samples contributed substantially to the prediction of both college grades and writing…

Data were collected for a brief objective English test, the Test of Standard Written English (TSWE), and for subsequent essay writing performance in four institutions. Data were then pooled across the four institutions and subclassified into four groups: males, females, majorities, and minorities. The groups were then compared with respect to TSWE…

Group comparisons for male, female, majority, and minority students were conducted for the Test of Standard Written English (TSWE). Data for two academic years and from 18 different institutions were analyzed by pooling data across institutions within each of the academic years. Analyses of data from the first academic year focused on…

This study, one of several examining a decline in the predictive validity of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and high school grades between 1975 and 1988, asks whether the criterion, freshman grade point average (FGPA), has changed. College Board tests usually thought of as predictors were used as proxies for the concurrent academic…

Although by traditional measures of test validity, the verbal section of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) is not culture biased, it, along with the English Composition Test and the Test of Standard Written English, reinforces a narrow view of academic excellence that excludes culturally different youths. Designed to prevent admission errors, the…