Over the past five years the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) has used the results of the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) to rate public school performance on the School Accountability Report (SAR). The public often considers the school ratings as indicative of the school's quality. There appears to be a lack of quantitative…

More attention is currently being paid to the distractors of a multiple-choice test item (Thissen, Steinberg, and Fitzpatrick, 1989). A systematic relationship exists between the keyed response and distractors in multiple-choice items (Levine and Drasgow, 1983). New scoring methods have been introduced, computer programs developed, and research…

The purpose of this study was to examine rater, domain, and gender influences on the assessed quality of student writing using weighted and unweighted scores. Twenty rates were randomly selected from a group of 87 operational raters contracted to rate essays as part of the 1993 field test of the Georgia High School Writing Test. All of the raters…

The purpose of this study was to describe the Rasch model for measurement and apply the model to examine the relationship between raters, domains of written compositions, and student writing ability. Twenty raters were randomly selected from a group of 87 operational raters contracted to rate essays as part of the 1993 field test of the Georgia…

The records of graduates of Iowa high schools who entered the University of Iowa as freshmen in the fall of 1977 were secured in cooperation with the Iowa Testing Program. Test scores for grades 4, 6, and 8 on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills and for grade 11 on the Iowa Tests of Educational Development were obtained for all students whose scores…

This paper focuses on item design considerations faced by instructional designers and evaluators when using computer videodisc delivery systems as a means of assessing learner comprehension and competencies. Media characteristics of various interactive computer/videodisc training systems are briefly discussed as well as reasons for using such…

A study was conducted at Miami-Dade Community College (M-DCC) to assess the academic performance of students who participated in remedial course work during their first term of enrollment, and to determine the participation rate of remedial-eligible students. The fall 1980 administration of a basic skills test battery found 2,968 of 6,726…

A history of teacher testing in South Carolina was presented to serve as a context within which the current teacher evaluation system might be interpreted. Legislation in 1940 mandated that renewal of certificates and issuance of new certificates to teachers be predicated upon the applicant's completion of a comprehensive and objective…

Recommendations are made for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessment of informative, persuasive, and imaginative writing. Five major objectives should be assessed by NAEP: (1) writing as a way of thinking and learning; (2) writing to accomplish a variety of purposes; (3) managing the writing process; (4) controlling forms…

This paper focuses specifically on paper and pencil testing as a tool contributing to a quality teaching force. Information is presented for those who have responsibility or interest in state level policies for using such tests to promote educational quality. Using institutional stages of a teacher's career as an organizing scheme for test use,…

This bulletin provides a general description of Alberta's Grade 3 Science Achievement Test which will be taken in June 1987. Discussed in this document are: (1) the purpose of the testing program; (2) the nature of the program; (3) students tested (including concerns related to exemptions and students receiving instruction in French); (4)…

This manual provides the guidelines and components necessary for the planning and implementation of a basic bicycle skills test program. It is intended for use by enforcement personnel, city and town government officials, education and school groups, civic groups, or other interested persons. An introduction covers use of the manual and the…

Seven schools that have re-evaluated their needs for standardized college admissions examinations were studied to explore their admissions and innovative testing policies. The schools include: (1) Bates College in Lewiston, Maine; (2) Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine; (3) Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration in Cambridge,…

Based on 18 months of extensive research and study, the New Mexico State Department of Education developed the Staff Accountability Plan to address the issue of teacher accountability and certification. One of the provisions of the plan (a written assessment of general and professional knowledge for initial certification) will be fulfilled by…

The Connecticut Assessment of Educational Progress (CAEP) is designed to provide legislators and educators with information on the strengths and weaknesses of students in 11 curricula areas. In addition, the Educational Evaluation and Remedial Assistance (EERA) program was developed to assess student proficiency in the basic skills of reading,…