This fact sheet lists problems involved in the use of standardized tests. It is argued that standardized tests are not really fair and helpful evaluation tools because they reward the ability to answer superficial questions quickly and do not measure the ability to think or create in any field. They also assume that all test takers have been…

Despite the many limitations of standardized tests, schools use them to determine if children are ready for school, to group students for instruction, to diagnose learning disabilities and other handicaps, and to guide and control the curriculum and teaching methods. No test is good enough to serve as the sole or primary basis for important…

An evaluation of this Syracuse, New York workplace literacy skills improvement project had three purposes: to characterize changes in the baseline performance of adults' workplace literacy skills as a function of instructional treatment; to characterize changes in workers' and supervisors' perceptions of worker effectiveness as a function of…

A study investigated the attitudes and beliefs of three groups of third- and fourth-grade classroom teachers (special education pull-out, bilingual credentialed, and bilingual waivered, n=18 per group) concerning the reading assessment of Latino language minority students. Data were gathered from semi-structured interviews, a written…

The College Outcome Measures Program (COMP) and its role in an era when standardized testing is being questioned and authentic assessment is championed are discussed. Authentic assessment should not mean discarding measurement expertise and existing technology. It is an approach to measuring the quality and level of performance that uses real…

This paper considers the implementation of Student Performance Standards (SPS) in Queensland, Australia, and their implications for teacher education. Student testing procedures in various Australian states and territories are described. A theoretical framework, grounded in Australian educational history, is elaborated for understanding the…

This paper reports the results of an SAT I field trial which examined test performance and efficiency of test timing for students with disabilities. A prototype SAT I test was administered to 1,113 students with disabilities in December 1992, in special formats and using special accommodations, to obtain information about the level of performance…

The annual report on achievement testing in Alberta (Canada) includes test results for third-grade students in language learning (for the regular English program), sixth-grade students in social studies, and ninth-grade students in science. Results are regarded in terms of curriculum standards, assessment standards, and achievement standards.…

The 1994 report is the fifth annual report of North Carolina Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) results since special state reporting began in 1990. Information is available for the nation, the state, and the 119 school systems and 2 special schools in North Carolina. It is the third year that all SAT-takers previously had the opportunity to take the…

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education uses state-developed, criterion-referenced tests for the purpose of evaluating programs funded by Chapter 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The agency's efforts to obtain approval from the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) to use state norms for evaluation purposes are…

What can be learned from the experience of analyzing jobs and testing employees in industry that can help advance the goal of assessing and improving college performance is summarized. It is apparent that grades, the traditional way of measuring college performance, do not explain much about one's performance in employment. There are two areas…

This handbook contains a collection of 10 essays on practical skills needed by correspondence educators. The emphasis is on the "how to" of home study. The scope of the handbook includes coverage of the major aspects of providing instructional and administrative service to students, from how to organize the student services department to…

This project studied the impact of Minimum Competency Tests (MCT) on the educational careers of secondary students. The educational experiences of those students passing the MCT were compared with the experiences of those students not passing the MCT. The study compared three categories of students (learning handicapped, educationally marginal,…

This volume on language issues within Australia contains five research papers: "Patterns of Inter-Cultural Communication in Melbourne Factories: Some Research in Progress" (Michael Clyne); "Developing Proficiency Scales for Communicative Assessment" (D. E. Ingram, Elaine Wylie); "Rapid Profile: A Second Language Screening…

The first mail reinterview ever conducted by the Census Bureau was conducted as part of the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) of 1991. Because there were some questions about the reliability of items from the 1988 SASS reinterview, the 1991 study was examined by a mail reinterview. The methodology and responses are discussed, and response…