Describes recent research attempts to draw inferences about the relative standing of the states on the basis of mean SAT scores. This paper identifies five serious errors that call into question the validity of such inferences. Some plausible ways to avoid the errors are described. (Author/LMO)

Can students' writing ability really be assessed by standardized, objective tests? This question is explored here along with a discussion of the alternatives and advice for principals to help their English and language arts teachers confront the issue. (Author/TE)

Using 559 fifth graders, measures were collected to assess multiple dimensions of academic self-attribution, self-concept, and inferred self-concept, and academic achievement. The specificity and predictability of the observed patterns of relations support the construct validity of interpretations based on both the self-attribution and…

Looks at the ways in which health professions test for competence and improve training and testing programs. Discusses the controversy concerning medical licensing, criterion-referenced exams for nurses, and continuing education evaluations. Finally, testing in the teaching professions is examined, including competency-based and continuing teacher…

Indicates that certain items in reading comprehension tests are not measuring for hearing impaired students the particular reading skill they are intended to measure. Argues for a word/idea association strategy as the explanation for this and briefly discusses its relevance for testing and educating the hearing impaired. (FL)

Concludes that the PDIL (the Spanish version of the Test of Early Language Development) should be used with caution. Since its reliability and validity were determined with the English language version, the method used to translate test items may have some ambiguities, and some illustrations on picture cards may not be culturally appropriate for…

A study of faculty and student attitudes toward medical student self-evaluation and comparison of faculty and student evaluations of student performance revealed that the opportunity for self-evaluation was both useful and appreciated. Faculty and student ratings correlated closely. (MSE)

Reviews problems involved in analyzing data on educational or training needs and details use of the proportionate reduction in error (PRE) approach (Hildebrand, et al., 1977), which predicts the probability that certain combinations of a joint distribution will occur, then tests to see how closely the prediction matches the observation. (MBR)

Investigated women's (N=35) aptitude for and changes in skills during an engineering training program and the relationship between academic/demographic information and cognitive skills to success in the program. Compares results with those of studies of male undergraduates. Includes results of mathematics anxiety and conservation of horizontality…

The efficacy of student ratings is examined through existing research, and it is concluded that although the ratings are generally reliable and valid indicators of teaching effectiveness and are not strongly influenced by extraneous factors, additional independent evaluation means are needed. (MSE)

The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to investigate whether, and to what extent, the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) can be applied in Saudi Arabia; and (2) to investigate the effect on BSRI scores of exposure of Saudi Arabians to Western culture. (BW)

The responses of 205 regular classroom teaches to the Rucker-Gable Educational Programming Scale were factor analyzed. Results indicated that the instrument measures four dimensions, accounting for only 42 percent of the total variance. Estimates of internal consistency for the scores and subscores were also modest. (Author/BW)

Two of the greatest problems of research on affective factors, and in particular, research on beliefs, is "what" and "how" we observe. The first difficulty is due to the lack of a clear terminology; but even once it has been clearly decided what to observe, it is not easy to put this into practice. This report describes from a…

This document examines the concepts of validity, reliability, and appropriateness from a language testing perspective as they apply to the following four assessment issues raised by the National Reporting System (NRS): (1) What type of language assessment seems to be required by the NRS: proficiency or achievement?; (2) Knowing that the NRS…

The Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP) is a mandated statewide assessment program that targets four core content areas. English language arts, including reading and writing, and mathematics are given to students in grades 3, 5, 8, and 10; science and social studies are given to students in grades 4, 6, 8, and 11. The DSTP reading and…