The relationships between ratings on the Idaho Alternate Assessment (IAA) for 116 students with significant disabilities and corresponding ratings for the same students on two norm-referenced teacher rating scales were examined to gain evidence about the validity of resulting IAA scores. To contextualize these findings, another group of 54…

How can one create a system for university admission that is equitable, valid, and representative of the broad range of abilities that students can bring to university settings? Conventional tests of abilities and achievements are narrow and do not measure the full range of abilities relevant to university and life success. In this article I…

Mounting pressure in the policy arena to improve teacher productivity either by improving signals that predict teacher performance or through creating incentive contracts based on performance--has spurred two related questions: Are there important determinants of teacher productivity that are not captured by teacher credentials but that can be…

Recent research in cognitive psychology has drawn attention to the important role that students' personal understandings and representations of subject matter play in the learning process. This paper briefly reviews some of this research and contrasts the kind of learning that results in an individual's changed conception or view of a phenomenon…

The National Assessment Governing Board and the National Center for Education Statistics sponsored a Joint Conference on Standard Setting for Large-Scale Assessments to provide a forum for technical and policy issues relevant to setting standards at local, state, and national levels. This executive summary conveys the essence of the conference by…

Developed for the Basic Skills Testing Program (BSTP) in New South Wales, Australia, this teacher's manual describes the Blue Series 3 of the ACER (Australian Council for Educational Research) Tests of Basic Skills. The two tests in the series, Aspects of Literacy and Aspects of Numeracy, were administered statewide by government school classroom…

Developed for the Basic Skills Testing Program (BSTP) in New South Wales, Australia, this teacher's manual describes the ACER (Australian Council for Educational Research) Tests of Basic Skills. The two tests in this series, Aspects of Literacy and Aspects of Numeracy, were administered statewide by government school classroom teachers in August,…

Developed for the Basic Skills Testing Program (BSTP) in New South Wales, Australia, this teacher's manual describes the Green Series 3 of the ACER (Australian Council for Educational Research) Tests of Basic Skills. The two tests in this series, Aspects of Literacy and Aspects of Numeracy, were administered statewide by government school…

Developed for the Basic Skills Testing Program (BSTP) in New South Wales, Australia, this teacher's manual describes the Green Series 6 of the ACER (Australian Council for Educational Research) Tests of Basic Skills. The two tests in this series, Aspects of Literacy and Aspects of Numeracy, were administered statewide by government school…

Alternative forms of evaluating student progress are changing testing or assessment in U.S. schools. From the teacher-made to the standardized test, the familiar over-emphasis on multiple-choice items is giving way to expanded generative formats in which students are called upon to demonstrate mastery through applications in which they use complex…

Province-wide school-leaving examinations had been an integral part of education in British Columbia (Canada) until 1973 when they were abandoned for a period of 10 years and reintroduced in 1983. This study investigated the effects of the grade 12 examinations in secondary science, and of science assessments conducted in grade 10. Researchers…

Based on a November 1990 seminar attended by tutors and development workers from Open College Network (OCN) accredited programs, this paper describes principles and practice of assessment in OCN programs in Britain. The first two sections provide information on the seminar and define assessment. Section 3 lists assessment procedures for…

This paper considers some practical concepts and ideas related to standardized test score improvement in general and specifically to the World Institute for Computer-Assisted Teaching (WICAT) Integrated Learning System (ILS) use. Previous research cited in this paper shows that, while teachers are the most important variable in ILS utilization,…

This manual from the Polk County Public Schools in Bartow, Florida, was developed for school personnel and parents to aid in their efforts to develop successful behavioral and academic interventions to enhance the educational outcomes for students. Section 1 describes the child study team which is comprised of an administrator, guidance counselor,…

A study sought to identify and examine key factors that influence adult basic education (ABE) mathematics instruction in Massachusetts and to develop a detailed picture of the adult basic math learning environment. Phase I involved a survey by questionnaire directed at the entire Massachusetts population of instructors and program directors…