Recently, there has been a significant expansion in the use of performance assessment in large scale testing programs. Although there has been significant support from curriculum and policy stakeholders, the technical feasibility of large scale performance assessments has remained a question. This report is intended to contribute to the debate by…

The performance-based assessment was developed to assess students' higher order thinking skills in real-life problem-solving situations in Alberta, Canada. These tasks assess aspects of science that cannot be measured easily by regular paper and pencil tests. The purpose of this document is to provide teachers, administrators, students, and…

The Tests of Adult Basic Education (TABE) is a widely used multiple-choice test battery of basic skills in reading, language, and mathematics. The Test of Applied Literacy Skills (TALS) is an applied literacy battery consisting of document, prose, and quantitative literacy tests. The central issue in this study was the relationship of the TABE and…

Testing English listening skills involves a variety of skills. Sounds are sometimes difficult to discriminate in a language that is not one's native tongue, so testing phoneme discrimination, the ability to tell the difference between sounds, is important. Picture choice items are a good way to select among alternatives to demonstrate…

The effects of student coaching in preparation for the College Board Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) on the predictive validity of this test for freshman year performance were studied using data on 1985 freshman year students from four colleges. After the validity of the SAT was estimated for each school, a given proportion of students was picked,…

The extent to which teachers at an elementary and secondary school in a rural town in the mid-south administered the Missouri Mastery and Achievement Tests (MMAT) in accordance with standardized procedures was studied. In addition, the teachers' general test-taking considerations, standardized test administration procedures, and test-wiseness were…

One of the main limitations of the current generation of computer-based tests is its dependency on the multiple-choice item. This research was aimed at extending computer-based testing by bringing limited forms of performance assessment to it in the domain of mathematics. This endeavor involves not only building task types that better reflect…

This paper addresses the issue of whether second language (L2) learners can reset parameters, by testing English speakers learning Spanish on their ability to reset the subjacency and bounding node parameters. The bounding nodes are IP and NP in English and CP and NP in Spanish. Eight American graduate students, highly proficient in the Spanish…

Leadership researchers and theorists alike have come to recognize that the critical tasks of senior level leaders are quite different from the critical leadership tasks of individuals occupying lower level leadership positions. Departing from the bulk of prior research on individual differences in leadership effectiveness which focused on…

Year after year, students, teachers, administrators, politicians, and parents are faced with the dilemma of reading assessment. Sheila Valencia (1990) feels that reading assessment has become a hot topic because the outcome tends to differ from school to school. Evaluations should be authentic and trustworthy. Roger Farr (1992) has noted that the…

The adoption of alternative pedagogical philosophies in the classroom has led to an increased use of technology to expand and enhance authentic, contextual learning environments. Correspondingly, these new approaches have also led to a growing dissatisfaction with existing evaluation methodologies to evaluate knowledge. This paper proposes such an…

These guidelines are provided to offer guidance to district and state policy makers and assessment directors concerning some issues of managing the development, administration, and use of performance assessments in large scale assessment programs. The term "performance assessment" is used for assessments that go beyond paper-and-pencil,…

This report describes one segment of the Federal Language Testing Board's Unified Language Testing Plan (ULTP), the validation of speaking proficiency tests in Spanish and English. The ULTP is a project to increase standardization of foreign language proficiency measurement and promote sharing of resources among testing programs in the federal…

This booklet provides guidance to student-athletes on making the transition to a career in professional athletics. It contains a list of do's and don'ts for students in regard to their collegiate eligibility, along with suggestions on obtaining disability insurance coverage for protection from loss of future earnings. The booklet provides…

This report uses a question-and-answer format to address questions raised by parents, educators, and community members concerning accountability and inclusion of students with disabilities in educational assessment programs. The philosophy underlying the inclusion of all students in educational accountability systems is based on three assumptions:…