Results for grade 12 are represented for the April 11-13, 1989 administration of the New Jersey High School Proficiency Test (HSPT), a requirement for high school graduation for New Jersey students. The test is initially given in grade 9. Data are provided for 762 12th-grade students who were taking the test for the first time or were repeating…

The content of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act is described, its current interpretations are examined, and the implications for developing a responsible language and citizenship curriculum to conform to the legislation are discussed. Specific attention is focused on the law's requirement that illegal aliens applying for amnesty and…

This paper traces the process of designing and administering a structured survey on dropping out of school to demonstrate the means by which working with organizations and their clients impacts research methodology. A dropout accounting system had been developed for the Ysleta Independent School District, a district with an enrollment of 50,000…

Biased assessment instruments and practices can lead to over-representation of minority children in special education classes. This paper analyzes the amount of variance in Mexican-American achievement test scores attributable to sociocultural factors. Fifty learning disabled Mexican-American elementary school students completed the Peabody…

This digest explains basic elements of standardized tests in order to help teachers in making students feel comfortable about taking such tests. Usually created by commercial publishers, standardized tests are designed to provide a common measure of students' performance. They help compare an individual student's performance with the performance…

The academic achievement of students in the Austin (Texas) Independent School District (AISD) is reported using their scores on the Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills (TEAMS), the Tests of Achievement and Proficiency (TAP), the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS), the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT), and the Scholastic…

The manual on the teaching of English as a Foreign or Second Language is intended as a practical classroom guide for Peace Corps volunteers. It describes procedures and offers sample exercises and activities for a wide range of listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills (whole-class, small-group, and individual participation), and classroom…

Proceedings of a conference on educational assessment are presented. A speech accompanying presentations of the 1987 Educational Testing Service Award for Distinguished Service to Measurement and a list of winners of that annual award from 1970 to 1987 are included. The nine papers provided include: (1) "How Assessment Can Best Serve Teaching and…

The tetrad of subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) that best predicts the WISC-R Full-Scale intelligence quotient (IQ) was determined for 1,589 Appalachian students referred for evaluation in grades 1-4, 5-8, and 9-10. The sample was divided into three groups. Students in grades 1 through 4 (n=655) were those…

The purpose of this paper is (1) to discuss a set of standards that can be used to evaluate potential assessment instruments; and (2) to use these standards to evaluate the American College Testing Program's College Outcomes Measures Program (ACT-COMP) and the Educational Testing Service (ETS) Academic Profile. Using the work of S. Messick (1975,…

Responses to American College Test College Outcome Measures Program (ACT-COMP) items by 481 black and 9,237 white students at the University of Tennessee (Knoxville) were analyzed using F. Samejima's graded model to determine the level of differential item functioning (DIF). Students had been tested using Form 8 of the ACT-COMP objective test…

A greater emphasis on the outcomes of learning should help provide more effective approaches to learning and widen participation. More careful and comprehensive analysis of outcomes could also make evaluation and curriculum development more effective. Education and training bring about change (learning outcomes) in individuals. Those outcomes…

Developed as part of the Minimum Performance Testing Program (MPT), these item specifications for sixth grade language arts are designed to provide an overview of the general content and format of test items used to measure instructional objectives. Each item specification contains the following information: objective identification number; grade…

An instrument was developed to measure students' engagement in various classes of study activities within multiple study contexts. This instrument is to be used in a large, ongoing research project investigating the underpinnings of student study activities and effects on academic achievement. The computer-administered instrument used--the Study…

The validity of a spatial visualization test for selecting candidate engineering students was assessed. The test was administered to 300 out of the 318 students enrolled during the winter quarter of 1989 in the Engineering Graphics 110 course at a major state university. Developmental steps undertaken to enhance the theoretical basis and validity…