The contribution of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) to education is described, and the most frequently asked questions about its use are addressed. The SAT became a prominent tool in college admissions when the members of the College Board recognized in the 1930's that the Board's program of very specific subject-matter tests was no longer…

Since speech communication evaluators are beginning to adapt the analytic and holistic instruments and methods used for rating written products to oral products and performance, this research review investigated: (1) what the labels "analytic" and "holistic" mean; (2) the theoretical bases of the two scoring approaches; and (3)…

The Client Observation Checklist (COC) was developed to evaluate Project ADAPT's intervention in three behavioral areas: bathing; dressing; and socialization. Project ADAPT is designed to provide services to meet the needs of chronically mentally ill residents of nursing homes. Specifically, the project provides staff trained to work with the…

This report summarizes findings on 26 National Teacher Examination specialty area tests provided by faculty reviewers from five Oregon institutions of higher education. Reviewers were asked to judge tests on the basis of: (1) whether students at the reviewer's institution would have the opportunity to acquire the knowledge measured in test items;…

This volume presents papers that dicusss the need for more systematic and rigorous research programs to monitor the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines and their various implementations. "A Progress Report on the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines, 1982-1986" (David V. Hiple), traces the…

A study was conducted to establish the construct validity of measures designed to assess topical knowledge. Thirty-one ninth-grade students and 44 third/fourth-grade students were interviewed to ascertain their knowledge about 4 topics; 2 weeks later they responded to 3 tests of topical knowledge. Results were analyzed quantitatively and…

A study was undertaken to develop a valid, reliable measure of coping skills for use with hearing impaired adolescents. Subjects included 324 adolescents, aged 15 to 17 years. Through the permission of schools and parents and the cooperation of the Annual Survey of Hearing Impaired Children and Youth of the Center for Assessment and Demographic…

The validity of the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-Revised (PDQ-R) was examined. The PDQ-R and the Crowne-Marlowe Social Desirability Scale (SD) were administered in the spring of 1989 to 45 undergraduates (26 females and 19 males) at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. One month later, the Hopkins Symptom Check List (SCL-90) was…

The Survey of Testing Practices was administered to 470 undergraduate students at Pepperdine University and the Univesity of California Los Angeles. The items concerned testing practices in three or four classes taken the previous term: type of test, test administration, class size, procedures for returning tests, test difficulty, and observed…

This study investigates the validity of the Stanford Binet Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition (S-B:4) for use with students with learning disabilities. It compares the performance of 18 elementary-age students on the S-B:4 and the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC). The subjects were identified by their school as having learning…

This paper discusses cognitive and noncognitive variables, and their relationship with each other, in learning and in educational evaluation. The nature of noncognitive learning environment variables is examined. The following instruments that have been widely used in assessing classroom environment are described: (1) the Learning Environment…

Bronfenbrenner's ecological paradigm is well suited for research on school effectiveness. Criteria for identifying effective schools should be thought of as indicators of learning occurring in a context of school practices and other influences. Use of the term "outcomes" implies a linear cause and effect relationship between school…

The study hypothesized that scatter analysis of the three subtest scale scores on the Meeting Street School Screening Test (gross motor patterning, visual-perceptual-motor, and language) given at the beginning of first grade would prove to be a more accurate predictor of future placement in a learning disabilities program than the cut-off total…

This report is a summary of the Basic Skills Task Force activities covering the period from August 1982 to June 30, 1983. The Task Force was created by the West Virginia Board of Education in 1982. The report provides information on the historical background of the Task Force, a summary of how it functioned, and recommendations of the Task Force…

The predictive validity of the Simultaneous Technique for Acuity and Readiness Testing (START), a developmental screening approach, was assessed with school performance as outcome criterion. The sample consisted of over 1,000 rural, preschool children between 54 and 66 months of age who were screened over 3 successive years. Follow-up achievement…