Describes recent Austrian research concerning readability formulas, especially the Swedish Lix formula. Describes a prototype for a system of evaluating the individual variables that contribute to the difficulty of student reading materials. (FL)

In a research-based approach, the responsibilities involved in teacher evaluation, including unclear and conflicting areas, are reviewed. The author provides a set of six guidelines to consider when developing evaluation systems. (MD)

Some basic facts about test construction and uses and abuses of standardized measures. (Author)

Establishes the validity and reliability of an instrument for evaluating whether English classes employ 35 variables indicative of the "growth through English" philosophy. (DD)

Paulo Freire, bell hooks, and Ira Shor have been criticized as theorists not concerned with the institutional realities of American education (e.g., grades and standardized exams). This paper argues that these teacher-researchers speak to the issues encountered in developing electronic portfolios in high schools and colleges. The imposition of…

In 1998, the Kentucky legislature made adjustments to the assessment and accountability system established by the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990 to create a new system, the Commonwealth Accountability and Testing System (CATS). The Kentucky Core Content Tests (KCCT) are a component of CATS. KCCT assessments are given in grades 4, 5, 7, 8,…

This paper reports the results of generalizability theory (G) analyses done for new writing and speaking tasks for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). For writing, a special focus was placed on evaluating the impact on the reliability of the number of raters (or ratings) per essay (one or two) and the number of tasks (one, two, or…

This book is designed to provide fundamental information concerning the procedures necessary to administer, score, interpret, and report findings from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent[TM] (MMPI-A), the most widely used objective personality assessment instrument for adolescents. The chapters are: (1) "Overview";…

Information fluency is generally defined as an ability to express oneself creatively, reformulate knowledge, and synthesize information regarding new information technology. The term has recently gained popularity over experience, expertise, competence, knowledge, and literacy. As with other related concepts, there is a great need to accurately…

Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) assessments are criterion-referenced performance tests designed, developed, and implemented by the Maryland State Department of Education in collaboration with classroom teachers and other Maryland educators. MSPAP is the major strategy for implementing Maryland's educational reform…

Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) assessments are criterion-referenced performance tests designed, developed, and implemented by the Maryland State Department of Education in collaboration with classroom teachers and other Maryland educators. MSPAP is the major strategy for implementing Maryland's educational reform…

Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) assessments are criterion-referenced performance tests designed, developed, and implemented by the Maryland State Department of Education in collaboration with classroom teachers and other Maryland educators. MSPAP is the major strategy for implementing Maryland's educational reform…

This study evaluated the reliability and construct validity of scores from the "Children's Role Inventory" (A. Potter and D. Williams, 1991). The measure specifies four roles fulfilled by children: Hero, Lost Child, Mascot, and Scapegoat. Theory and some research also suggest that adults continue to interact based on role assignments…

This paper describes a study on rater training that involved the analysis of ratings given to English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) compositions by 8 inexperienced and 8 experienced raters both before and after rater training, using FACETS (Linacre, 1990, 1993), which provides measures of rater severity and consistency. The testing text was a…