A discussion of second language testing focuses on the need for collaboration among researchers in second language learning, teaching, and testing concerning development of context-appropriate language tests. It is argued that the nature of the proficiency construct in language is not constant, but that different linguistic, functional, and…

Practicality is the "Achilles heel" of alternative assessment in middle school science. This 5-year study of an "early adopter" school explores factors that enable alternate assessment to thrive in spite of practical problems. Interviews with five seventh-grade life science teachers and five eighth-grade physical science teachers who initiated and…

California was a pioneer in new forms of student assessment through a system entitled the "California Learning Assessment System" (CLAS). For different reasons, several interest groups objected to the CLAS, which has been discontinued. The history of the CLAS program sheds light on the future of testing policy in California and perhaps…

This paper investigates what types of instruction-feedback combinations may contribute to the learning of English grammar for 120 Japanese university students. Students were given tests on grammaticality judgment and correction, using English ergative verbs in three trials of a post-instruction test. Subjects were divided into six groups according…

Issues related to linking tests with constructed response items were explored, specifically by comparing single-group and anchor-test designs to link raw scores from alternate forms of performance-based student assessments in the context of Delaware's assessment program using performance-based assessment. This study explored use of the two test…

This study examined the ways in which adult, Korean, English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learners performed the "request" speech act, with particular attention to deviations caused by negative transfer. An oral discourse completion test with six request situations was given to three groups of learners; situations varied in terms of the…

This study investigated inservice teachers' assessment competency as a function of measurement training and years of teaching. Data were collected from 311 teachers on a 67-item Assessment Practices Inventory (API). Seven composite scores were formed based on the underlying dimensions from a principal factor analysis. A 2x3 MANOVA was conducted to…

This report provides updated information on state standards in the 1986-87 school year. Each state was sent its previously compiled 1984-85 profile for review and revision. Responses were received from 48 of the 50 states, and data from the 1984-85 profile were used for states that did not respond. The first part of the report summarizes the…

This report evaluates the degree to which current assessment practices and programs include students with disabilities. It notes the difficulty of accurately determining the participation of students with disabilities in large-scale assessment programs due to a lack of data, differing definitions of eligible testing populations, and the…

The State Department of Education is releasing the domain specifications of the New Mexico High School Competency Examination (NMHSCE) for educator use because the Spring 1996 administration of the test will be in a different form. The NMHSCE is a high school graduation requirement in New Mexico. It assesses students' competence in writing,…

Beginning in February 1994, twelfth-grade students who have passed the Ohio Ninth-grade Proficiency Tests in all areas will take the Twelfth-grade Proficiency Tests in writing, reading, mathematics, and citizenship. This fact sheet describes the Twelfth-grade Proficiency Test in writing, which is designed to measure a twelfth-grade level of…

Beginning in February 1994, twelfth-grade students who have passed the Ohio Ninth-grade Proficiency Tests in all areas will take the Twelfth-grade Proficiency Tests in writing, reading, mathematics, and citizenship. This fact sheet describes the Twelfth-grade Proficiency Test in mathematics, which is designed to measure a twelfth-grade level of…

This manual contains directions for the teacher and oral directions to be read to students taking the practice tests of the Ohio Proficiency Tests for grade 6. Directions are ordered in the sequence of the sections in the Practice Test booklet (writing, reading, mathematics, citizenship, and science), and they are similar, but not identical, to…

One component of the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) is the state's performance-based assessments, criterion-referenced tests that require students to apply what they know and can do to solve problems and display other higher-order thinking skills. This document helps parents, teachers, students, and other citizens…

Beginning in the 1995-96 school year, the science test will be added to the Ninth-grade Proficiency Tests Program. Any student graduating after September 15, 2000 will be required to pass the Ninth-grade Proficiency Test in Science, as well as the other tests in reading, writing, mathematics, and citizenship. This fact sheet provides information…