Because of concerns about the validity of tests used in education and employment, a consultation on June 16, 1989, focused on tests of ability, achievement, and other skills. Invited experts were asked to address a set of issues common to both education and employment testing, primarily related to test construction procedures and how to establish…

The efficacy of use of the Raven Progressive Matrices Test (RPM) in the selection of gifted children from traditionally underrepresented groups was investigated in a large-scale study with a diverse population. A total of 16,985 subjects were given the Raven Progressive Matrices Test. These included 22.7 percent Latinos, 37 percent Whites, 14…

The development of individualized educational programs (IEPs) has become a burden for many secondary school systems. The primary objective of the project described in this report was to develop a computer system that would help in the development of IEPs for all 15,000 handicapped and/or disadvantaged students enrolled in Pennsylvania's vocational…

A project developed and implemented a model retention program to attempt to reduce by 20 percent the dropout rate at Crowley's Ridge Vocational Technical School (Arkansas). The major emphasis was on placing students in a vocational program that would maximize their chances for success. During the program: (1) all students were included in all…

This collection consists of 11 conference papers on issues pertaining to education of talented and gifted children; 6 are from "general interest" sessions and 5 are from "special interest" sessions. The general interest papers are primarily theoretical in focus. Titles include: Julian C. Stanley's "Finding Intellectually…

This study describes intergroup guessing differences in response to tests and to test-like tasks. It is a composite of seven component inquiries with three substudies in Phase 1 and four in Phase 2. These seven studies cover the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) item-type domain from a number of viewpoints relevant to implicit guessing behavior.…

A report on tests used by California undergraduate institutions and by graduate and professional schools is presented by the California Postsecondary Education Commission. Information is provided on five tests used by undergraduate colleges: the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, the Scholastic…

A study was conducted to investigate the differential predictability of academic success between those who transferred to a private multipurpose university from two-year colleges and those who transferred from four-year institutions. The study looked at success after one academic year, using Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores and grade point…

Factors affecting college choice of beginning college freshmen were studied. The influence of academic background and performance of students residing in a metropolitan area was assessed from 1983 to 1986 with 33 institutions of a statewide university system. Using multivariate discriminant analysis, institutions attended were predicted using the…

The keylist format (rather than the conventional multiple-choice format) for item presentation provides a machine-scorable surrogate for a truly free-response test. In this format, the examinee is required to think of an answer, look it up in a long ordered list, and enter its number on an answer sheet. The introduction of keylist items into…

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which mastery testing contributes to instructional effectiveness and to determine the size of its effects in different outcome areas, such as aptitude and instructional time. A meta-analytic methodology was used to integrate findings from experimental studies. Twenty studies examined…

The relationship among preadmission characteristics of students, admission policies, and different measures of success during college was studied at nine colleges: Bucknell University, Colgate University, Hartwick College, Kalamazoo College, Kenyon College, Occidental College, Ohio Wesleyan University, University of Richmond, and Williams College.…

This report summarizes the 1985-86 results for three New York state examination programs--the elementary school Pupil Evaluation Program (PEP) and the high school Regents and Regents Competency Tests. Results on the PEP showed passing rates improved steadily over the last four years. About one-half of New York State's graduating seniors are…

The testing of many American Indian children using standardized exams (achievement, aptitude, ability, and intelligence tests) developed for the majority American society represents a case of cross-cultural testing which is likely to produce invalid results in the form of underestimation of student performance. Requirements for obtaining accurate…

This paper presents evidence that recent aptitude test score decline is signaling a significant deterioration in the quality of entering cohorts of workers. The impact of general intellectual achievement (GIA) on productivity; trends in the GIA of the adult populations, students, and working adults; accounting for the labor quality growth when…