It appears that, where there is standardized testing of teachers for certification, there is a decline of black teachers. Although tests can provide valuable information, states must be aware of limitations of such tests and have a clear understanding of what the tests can do. Using tests to say that a teacher is as qualified as another may be…

The Center for the Study of Evaluation's (CSE) expository and narrative rating scales have been developed to meet the need for instructionally relevant methods for assessing students' writing competence. Research indicates that large numbers of raters can be trained in the use of these scales and that, during training and independent rating, they…

A study examined the relationships between the quality of writing on composition examinations and topic selection, outlining, rough drafting, and revision. A sample of 1,372 grade twelve students' essays was examined. Among the issues examined were how topic selection affects the final essay score, if and how selection of topic affects the type or…

Information on statistical detection of two different kinds of unethical activity associated with standardized testing is presented. The first is advance presentation of specific test items or excessive coaching using items very similar to those on a test. Cluster analysis is recommended for detection of aberrant vectors of percentages correct on…

Two types of information on the outcomes of education in New York State for the 1983-84 school year are presented. One relates to New York State tests and programs. The second is a by-product of national programs that identify outstanding pupils. During the 1983-84 school year, elementary and secondary school students demonstrated high achievement…

The Flesch readability index yields meaningful information about the responses of readers to texts. Because the formula is so simple, a group of English teachers wrote a program in BASIC that would count some obvious surface features of a text and calculate Flesch scores. Among the programing problems encountered were counting words (taking into…

This study was conducted to investigate whether increased levels of state anxiety are associated with microcomputers. Participants included 116 undergraduate and graduate education and library science students with an age range of 20 to 55. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Form Y, was administered to a control group (N=58) and an experimental…

The status of Mexican Americans in higher education is addressed, along with the role played by testing and assessment, and educational prospects for Mexican American children. The importance of community colleges in the education of Mexican Americans is noted. Reasons for declining college enrollments for Hispanics are identified: high college…

Sampling distributions for ten tests for comparing population variances in a two group design were generated for several combinations of equal and unequal sample sizes, population means, and group variances when distributional forms differed. The ten procedures included: (1) O'Brien's (OB); (2) O'Brien's with adjusted degrees of freedom; (3)…

To ascertain differences in cognitive ability, 50 monolingual and 50 bilingual Hispanic children enrolled in the same remedial education program for preschool four-year-old children in a large, urban school district in Arizona were administered the Cooperative Preschool Inventory in English. Subjects were matched on the basis of total scores to…

This document summarizes a catalogue report of major Minnesota proposals issued over the past two years (through the end of the 1985 legislative session) for improving the quality of K-12 public education in the State. The document provides an overview of the themes and highlights from the proposals, following the topical order used in the…

The most appropriate statistical model for the small-scale (n<100) studies common in language testing research is the Rasch one-parameter logistic model. The Rasch model provides a wide range of options for conducting research, refining existing examinations, and developing tailored (computerized adaptive) language tests. Three investigations…

In 1972, the Oregon State Department of Education changed its standards relating to graduation requirements after a survey revealed concern that the high school diploma had lost its credibility. Parkrose School District developed a goal-based curriculum and measurement program to meet the new requirements. From the program's inception, District…

Subjects for an investigation of the effects of training with a computer and past computer experience on the computerized aptitude test performance of college students were 92 undergraduates at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, who participated in a test study utilizing six Apple II+ microcomputers. The study was conducted to…

This study introduced a probabilistic model utilizing item response theory (IRT) for dealing with a variety of misconceptions. The model can be used for evaluating the transition behavior of error types, advancement of learning stages, or the stability and persistence of particular misconceptions. Moreover, it apparently can be used for relating…