False positive and false negative error rates were studied for competency testing when failing examinees are permitted to retake the test. Formulas are provided for the beta-binomial and Rasch models. Estimates based on these models are compared for six data sets from the South Carolina Basic Skills Assessment Program. (SLD)

The teacher education profession must develop a program to assess essential elements of professional knowledge comprising a teacher education curricula so that institutions can prepare teachers who can demonstrate that they have gained an acceptable mastery of cognitive and affective learning. (Author/CB)

The history of the College Entrance Examination Board's Advanced Placement Program is chronicled from its conception in 1951 through early developmental stages and 40 years of implementation. Issues discussed include test development, funding, administration at the institutional level, expansion of curriculum areas and testing options, teacher…

An example application of portfolio assessment was developed and the model and estimates of reliability derived from the literature were then used to estimate the characteristics of an operational large-scale portfolio assessment program. Costs were estimated to put results in a realistic context. (SLD)

Examines the development and administration of the New Jersey General Intellectual Skills (GIS) Assessment, administered for the first time in 1990 at all public colleges and universities in the state. Describes the GIS's scope and function, scoring procedures, score reporting, faculty expectations, and initial results. (DMM)

Examines some of the policy implications for the proposed assessment systems to replace multiple-choice tests in education as part of educational reform movement. Notes that, like multiple-choice formats, the origins and assumptions of performance assessment methods have implications for the usefulness of the data that result. (Author/NB)

Suggests that ELLA (English Language and Literacy Assessment ) implemented in New South Wales, Australia, fails four tests for sound diagnostic assessment set out in a standard reference (K.W. Howell et al. "Curriculum Based Evaluation")--tests for logicality, reliability, validity, and accuracy and practicality. (RS)

Claims that arguments about the invalidity, purposelessness, and misleading nature of ELLA (English Language and Literacy Assessment ) implemented in New South Wales, Australia, remain intact despite attempts to counter the arguments. Presents a detailed critique of arguments presented in an article in the previous of this journal supporting ELLA.…

Analyzed scores on the Georgia Kindergarten Assessment Program to determine whether school readiness was influenced by preschool program attendance. Found: (1) higher overall school readiness, physical, and personal scores for preschool attendees; (2) no difference as a function of type of preschool; and (3) that girls outperformed boys on the…

Provides a general framework for examining the consequences of assessment programs, especially statewide programs that intend to improve student learning by holding schools accountable. The framework is intended for use with programs using performance-based tasks but can be used with programs using traditional item formats as well. (SLD)

One of the outcomes of regular education reform in Australia has been the development of a national testing program for school students. This article examines the degree to which students with a disability participate in this testing, and the extent to which the testing of students with a disability may help to achieve the National Goals of…

When students put down their pencils at the end of Connecticut's testing each year, another intensive process begins. Hundreds of trained evaluators work day and night for about a month to score the written responses. Although expensive, the use of open-ended questions drives the kind of instruction that state leaders say they want in their…

In 1983, the National Commission on Excellence in Education in the United States issued a report called "A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform." This report and other policy initiatives such as the No Child Left Behind Legislation recommended that the individual states institute assessments to hold schools accountable.…

Because of the perceived lack of youth physical fitness and/or concerns for increased obesity, physical education teachers are interested in youth fitness and physical activity levels. Statewide mandates are being developed that require school-based teachers to complete physical fitness testing. Data from the nationally representative School…

Problems of scale typically arise when comparing test score trends, gaps, and gap trends across different tests. To overcome some of these difficulties, we can express the difference between the observed test performance of two groups with graphs or statistics that are metric-free (i.e., invariant under positive monotonic transformations of the…