Criteria for the selection of judges (evaluators) for setting item-based standards involved in tests for which cutting scores must be established are investigated. Focus is on cases in which test standards are based on specialists' judgments concerning the difficulty of test items in tests used to determine who will be awarded a diploma, admitted…

The Verbal Peer Adult Emotional Scale (VPAE), a behavioral rating scale for measuring the progress of severely maladaptive children, covers four areas: verbal behavior, peer interaction, interaction with adults, and emotional behavior. The 16-item scale is designed for use with children between the chronological ages of two and nine years, who are…

This symposium consists of five papers and presents some recent developments in adaptive testing which have applications to several military testing problems. The overview, by James R. McBride, defines adaptive testing and discusses some of its item selection and scoring strategies. Item response theory, or item characteristic curve theory, is…

The status of minimum competency testing programs, as of June 30, 1979, is given through descriptions of 31 state programs and 20 local district programs. For each program, the following information is provided: legislative and policy history; implementation phase; goals; competencies to be tested; standards and standard setting; target groups and…

The compositions or essay tests of second language learners are difficult to mark and evaluate. It has been suggested that the only way to achieve objectivity is to abolish all criteria except formal correctness, as it is the only one that can be measured and statistically evaluated. Attempts have been made to establish other criteria. A varied…

This guide to surveying college students, graduates, and dropouts accompanies The Student Outcomes Questionnaires developed by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems. Student outcomes are defined as the results or consequences of a student's enrollment in a post secondary educational program. The Student Outcomes…

Laurie Richlin has been running a workshop on course design for higher education for over fifteen years, modifying and improving it progressively from the feedback of participants, and from what they in turn have taught her. Her goals are to enable participants to appropriately select teaching strategies, to design and create the conditions and…

This publication (in both English and French versions) on learner assessment in workplace literacy programs begins with a discourse on some dimensions of the testing question. It discusses three major approaches to assessment in the broader area of adult literacy that can shed light in the domain of workplace literacy: traditional, competency…

This guidebook is intended to assist the classroom teacher in developing assessments for English language learners (ELLs). More specifically, it will: help the teacher to determine whether a student may be an ELL; measure native-language proficiency or the English language proficiency of an ELL; determine initial instructional placement for an ELL…

In 2004, the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) conducted an assessment of a sample of Year 6 and Year 10 students across Australia to assess their proficiency in civics and citizenship. The assessment of civics and citizenship is part of a national plan that is being put progressively in place to…

The authors present a program of research on the teaching practices of 1st-year teachers that has evolved within a partnership between and among a university and area school districts. The research links observed 1st-year teaching practices with school level (elementary, middle, high school) and type of teacher preparation (traditional bachelor's…

This collection explores the theory and applications of educational testing. It is divided into sections on theory and general principles of educational measurement, administration of tests and scoring, and applications of testing. The following chapters present information on test theory and use: (1) "Current Perspectives and Future…

This manual is intended to serve as a step-by-step guide to writing criterion-referenced tests. It includes directions on constructing and scoring various types of test items to measure each level of cognitive function. The manual gives a method for writing, analyzing and rewriting instructional objectives; preparing a content outline; matching…

The Statewide Assessment Program of the Florida State Department of Education is responsible for measuring student achievement and disseminating the assessment results. One dimension of this effort has been the development of predicted or adjusted school scores. These scores are based on several factors which are related to achievement. Among…

Oregon is in the process of raising expectations for its students. The state will now require students to prove their proficiency through a series of classroom assignments and state tests. Students who achieve the grade-10 standards on the required assignments and tests will receive a Certificate of Initial Mastery, and those who achieve the…