In 1994 the National Education Statistics Agenda Committee (NESAC) of the National Forum on Education Statistics, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), established the Core Data Task Force to identify and define a set of "core elements" for the collection and reporting of data about enduring and emerging issues at local,…

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

The National Assessment Governing Board and the National Center for Education Statistics sponsored a Joint Conference on Standard Setting for Large-Scale Assessments to provide a forum for technical and policy issues relevant to setting standards at local, state, and national levels. This executive summary conveys the essence of the conference by…

The present investigation extends the factor analytic approach pioneered by Fleishman (1964), incorporating subsequent developments in the application of confirmatory factor analysis and the physical fitness literature (e.g., an emphasis on maximum oxygen intake). More specifically, the ability of an a priori factor structure of physical fitness…

A study established the logical validity of instructional activities for teaching reading evaluatively. These activities operationalized a theory of literacy and a model of reading comprehension developed by L. Dagostino and J. Carifio that specify 20 general characteristics of literate students who read evaluatively. Nineteen secondary classroom…

The final project report on development of an advanced Russian language listening and reading proficiency test is presented. It summarizes activities in the second year of the project, including dissemination of summer 1985 test validation results to participating higher education institutions, item analyses, completion of the final test edition,…

The "Writing What You Read" (WWYR) rubric was designed for large-scale assessments, and differs from most narrative rubrics in its narrative-specific content and its developmental framework. The rubric contains five analytic subscales for theme, character, setting, plot, and communication, and a sixth holistic scale for overall…

A study developed a valid and reliable instrument to measure learner empowerment and tested a model in which learner empowerment was caused by teacher communication behaviors and students' self-esteem. The model tested hypothesized teacher communication behaviors (relevance, verbal immediacy, and nonverbal immediacy) and student self-esteem as…

Many states have a disconnected body of laws regarding educator evaluation. Uncoordinated legislation can create problems with respect to evaluation, appropriate standards and methods to be employed, and implementation strategies. This paper describes Utah's educator-evaluation legislation to illustrate this phenomenon. Four statutory provisions…

This booklet examines fundamental technical and implementation issues involved with large-scale, on-demand performance assessments and teacher-constructed, classroom-based performance assessments, especially for use with students who have disabilities. It discusses definitions and core concepts, outlines theoretical matters, reviews research on…

Research has shown that, when administered properly, kindergarten readiness screening results are associated closely with future school success. The Dallas Preschool Screening Test (DPST) is one of many such instruments used to determine school readiness and predict school success. A study sought to determine the effectiveness of the DPST in…

Developments in the measurement and theory of creativity are reviewed, and the present status of creativity vis-a-vis psychometrics and theory is explored. The realm of creativity has been a quagmire of definition problems, with creativity variously defined in terms of process or stages. In past eras, creativity was essentially measured by output…

This paper addresses issues in the use of facilitated communication with persons having severe communication impairments, including autism. The research on facilitation is summarized, indicating that the vast majority of studies have found no evidence of communication but have found evidence of facilitator influence on the communicator's response.…

Matriculation regulations in California require that community colleges which adopt standardized placement tests demonstrate that the tests are valid predictors of future course success. A positive correlation of at least .35 between test score and subsequent student performance in a particular course is needed to demonstrate the predictive…

A study demonstrated the utility of item analyses to investigate which items function well or poorly in a second language reading recall protocol instrument. Data were drawn from a larger study of 56 learners of German as a second language at various proficiency levels. Pausal units of scored recall protocols were analyzed using both classical…