An investigation was made of the performance of a sample of British sixth-form pupils on a task requiring them to obtain information from a book. Their performance was correlated with scores on tests of reading comprehension, reading speed in conjunction with recall and comprehension, and intelligence. (Author/RM)

A suggestion is made for solving the problem of testing spoken English. The students were from the Economics Department of a university in Finland. Their needs (practical ones), their courses in spoken English, the form of the test--oral, reading, and writing--and the marking system are considered. (SCC)

Efforts to better the school Leaving Exams in English of a large African state lead to the belief that schools should do away with them completely. Where this cannot be done, a thorough, systematic evaluation of reading comprehension, structure, and usage should be combined with productive integrative evaluation. (SCC)

Two approaches to comprehension are described which attempt to probe the students' real understanding of a prepared passage. In the first method, multiple choice questions were asked based on a 400-word passage; in the second method, a variant of the first, questions are separated into comprehension and phrase vocabulary. (SCC)

A discussion of the merits of using pictures, particularly authentic ones, as a component of the evaluation process in foreign language classes. Three reasons are given: pictures provide a setting for testing communication skills; they give a sociocultural context; their use can be student-centered. (Text is in French.) (AMH)

A survey was conducted of 51 universities to determine the English standards for foreign graduate students. Information is presented on English examinations and required test scores, use and acceptability of interviews for determining English proficiency, standards within English departments, English requirements for teaching assistants, and…

The study compared the results of four measures of language dominance in a group of 32 Mexican-American children (mean age 6.1 years-old). (Author/PHR)

Reviewed is the Sequenced Inventory of Communication Development, a test intended to provide speech and language pathologists information on early communicative behaviors. (BD)

Educators concerned with how children learn language cannot allow inadequate measures like standardized tests to interfere with students' learning experiences. The school environment must support teachers who develop the ability to observe children and who understand the dynamics of language development. (Author)

A description of examinations given at the end of secondary studies. Topics discussed are: the status of secondary education, final examinations--both state and local, the French examination, some critical reflections, and developments in programs. Sample questions from the State examination are included. (Text is in French.) (AMH)

A discussion of the testing system in Sweden within the context of the position of foreign languages in the educational system. Topics addressed are the standardized grading system, the different types of tests, the content of the French tests and opinions of teachers and students. (Text is in French.) (AMH)

Develops and validates a new language aptitude battery to be used for the selection of military personnel for training at the Defense Language Institute which offers over 50 foreign language courses. (RC)

Describes the use of the cloze procedure in testing global communicative competence of university students of French. The topics covered are: the instrument and procedures, background of scorers, inter-scorer reliability, scoring methods, power of discrimination and validating of the tests. Paragraphs used in the experiment appear in the appendix.…

This study assessed reading comprehension at different levels of second language learning. Adaptations of Carver's reading tests, a variation of the cloze procedure, were administered to 486 college students enrolled in beginning Spanish courses. Tests were found moderately reliable and were recommended for diagnostic purposes at beginning and…

It is recommended that the scores obtained on achievement tests in different subject areas after the same number of years of study should be more nearly comparable. In addition, new forms of the Latin Achievement Test (LAT) should be developed and the spring test date for the LAT should be restored. (HP)