The author describes the manner in which student learning outcomes can be successfully measured, in a student-centred classroom environment, using both formative and summative approaches. He argues that by carefully planning units of work and/or individual activities in negotiation with students, it is possible to ascertain what they already know…

A common assumption is that boys are innately superior in analytical and quantitative skills and girls are superior in verbal skills. Research indicates, however, that these assumptions hold true only at certain times in the life cycle of each sex. There is evidence that cultural attitudes, rather than innate sex differences, account for…

Presenting a methodological statement for a study of quality of life variability in rural development, this paper is based upon a dimension of expansive/nonexpansive ideology of community leaders. The three hypotheses to be tested state that among communities: the greater the social organization for development among nonexpansive leaders, the…

This quarterly bulletin provides brief annotations for tests recently acquired by the Educational Testing Service Collection. The tests are grouped into several categories, including: (1) achievement, (2) personality, interest, attitudes and opinions, and (3) sensory-motor and miscellaneous. Additional information includes test announcements,…

On the basis of research among the Portuguese in a Massachusetts district, the author finds that two features of the culture of the school in the United States contrast sharply with the corresponding features in Portugal: the degree of "social freedom" and "pedagogical freedom" allowed students. The behavioral parameters of…

Eighty three applicants for empployment in a hardware supply manufacturing company participated in a study of the effects of anxiety, praise and the awareness of time remaining on employment testing. Two control groups and three testing groups--praise, time, and praise and time--were administered the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB), a…

Evaluative comments from one participant in the June 1976 Pittsburgh conference on the theory and practice of beginning reading are presented in this paper. Discussion centers on curriculum analyses, testing practices, teaching practices, units of analysis that are required for reading research, learning characteristics, stages of reading…

In the final stages of drafting the 1974 revision of the Standards for Educational and Psychological Tests, it became clear to the committee members that the various drafts of the revisions emphasized the assessment of individuals, rather than program evaluation. Because of its concern, the committee decided to finish the present draft and to…

The effect of varying the percentages of female soldiers assigned to representative types of Test, Operation, and Evaluation units on the unit's capability to perform its mission under field conditions was assessed. Empirical data were provided to test the null hypothesis that increasing the proportion of women in selected units would not impair…

From the statewide assessment of mathematics performance conducted by the Minnesota Department of Education, specific study findings for 17-year-olds attending public and nonpublic schools included demographic data and information on student attitudes toward education programs and mathematics, and mathematics achievement. Data analyses suggested…

These placement tests are designed to help teachers determine a students' Chinese reading and writing level and to place them in the appropriate grade level book in the Golden Mountain Reading Series. The tests are divided into two parts: (1) word recognition and (2) reading and writing test. (Author/CFM)

This paper describes an instrument used to assess the receptive language of children. The bilingual child is tested first in the non-dominant language. When the ceiling is reached in the non-dominant language, the tester switches to the dominant language. (The ideal situation would be to give the test in one language one day, then repeat the test…

Research has recognized that anxiety may exert a debilitating effect on students' academic performance; however, many studies of test anxiety have been limited by their failure to consider sex differences. Two studies were conducted to analyze sex differences of the Test Anxiety Scale (TAS) and achievement correlates and to validate a factor…

Three major stages in the development of language testing have been identified and correlated with corresponding stages in teaching. These are: (1) the pre-scientific stage associated with the grammar-translation method; (2) the psychometric-structuralist stage concomitant with the audio-lingual method; and (3) the integrative-sociometric stage…

The testing of bilingual students poses particular problems for analyses of performance, item bias, and test adequacy. A test administered in two languages to children selected for their language facility provides a special arena for the study of these problems. The Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS) was selected because the test content…