Teacher training institutions should assess the competency level of their graduates so that needed changes in teacher education programs can be made. A model for assessing teacher education graduates and the teacher education program is described. (CJ)

The implications that cognitive approaches to the study of reading can have for the assessment of reading achievement are discussed. Research in word decoding, semantic access, sentence processing, and discourse analysis is summarized with emphasis on processing efficiency required in one area affecting performance in another area. (Author/CM)

Results from the third national mathematics assessment are presented. Overall, the performance of nine year olds changed little since the second assessment, while significant gains were made by 13 year olds. Data on whole numbers, fractions and decimals, other basic concepts, and problem solving are discussed. (MNS)

Examined the extent to which a cognitive style variable, integrative complexity, was related to synchrony between behavioral and self-report measures of anxiety in counseling students (N=26). During a therapy analogue two measures of anxiety were taken. Results indicated a substantial dependence of synchrony/desynchrony on cognitive style.…

The criticism that language materials often test rather than teach is discussed. Exam testing is distinguished from continuous monitoring, a necessary function that well-constructed computer assisted language instruction may perform well. It is argued that computer tests also teach, and can handle much of the remedial instruction otherwise…

Examined the relationship between sex role orientation and parental child rearing practices in 69 college women. Using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), results did not support the existence of such a relationship, and failed to replicate earlier findings based on analysis of variance (ANOVA). (JAC)

The Houston Plan for Excellence in Education aims to achieve quality in staffing and in education by recruiting and rewarding excellent staff, initiating a competency-based selection process for all school personnel, and providing renewal and professional growth opportunities. (SK)

Summarizes a national survey of 1,894 secondary schools on the use of career information and its value to students, and assesses the effectiveness of career information delivery systems. While many resources are available, the treatment of interests, aptitudes, tempraments, and values is inconsistent, simplistic, or absent. (JAC)

Assessment test data from 1976-79 on California children in grade six were analyzed. Loglinear models were used to evaluate the consistency of response of each sex. A significant interaction between sex and choice of distractor occurred for a large majority of the items. (MNS)

Statistical bias in measurement and ethnic-group bias in testing are discussed, reviewing predictive and construct validity studies. Item bias is reconceptualized to include distance of item content from respondent's experience. Differing values of mean and standard deviation for bias parameter are analyzed in a simulation. References are…

Findings on ratio and on fractions from a research project on strategies and errors in secondary mathematics are discussed, with typical errors described. Pupils seemed to learn rules without understanding. (MNS)

An instructional system at the University of Maine (Orono) was developed to address problems unique to this institution. The system consists of biology instructional modules, variable pacing through computer-generated examinations, and variable credit. Although lectures were initially eliminated, they were reinitiated to motivate students and help…

Confusion in the terminology used in criterion-referenced measurement specifications and development and standard setting and the attendant role of cut-off scores are shown to need practical clarification through psychometric research on test applications and consequences. (CM)

The Committee on Ability Testing's report (see ED 213 770 and ED 213 771) is shown to give primacy to employment productivity and efficiency values, creating an institutional bias in their analysis of testing. The importance of a balance of alternative multiple perspectives to broaden testing criteria, standards, fairness, and social values served…