What people mean when they use the phrase "content standard" varies all over the lot. In some states, content standards are little more than category labels describing collections of curricular aims in particular content areas. If a state's content standards are too numerous, then teachers do not know where to aim their instructional efforts. This…

Uses and consequences of educational testing have increased dramatically in recent years. Professional standards to ensure fair treatment of all affected by test results are more important than ever, but standards for developing and using educational tests are only helpful if they are followed. Test developers and users each have a role to play in…

The Bookmark method for setting standards on educational tests is currently one of the most popular standard-setting methods. However, research to support the method is scarce. In this report, we review the published and unpublished literature on this method as well as some seminal work in the area of evaluating standard-setting studies. Our…

Accountability for educational quality is a priority at all levels of education. Low-stakes testing is one way to measure the quality of education that students receive and make inferences about what students know and can do. Aggregate test scores from low-stakes testing programs are suspect, however, to the degree that these scores are influenced…

Testing includes all the things teachers do to assess the learning progress of their students and to diagnose their learning difficulties. Most teachers can develop whatever tools they need to assess student progress, but, if teachers are to test rigorously and frequently, they must be given adequate time to evaluate students individually,…

This paper critically reviews methods of pupil assessment at the beginning, during and at the end of the second cycle of secondary education. It notes a trend towards more global assessment based on a mixture of external and internal, periodic and terminal, subjective and objective tests. (Editor)

The association of anxiety and medical students' performance on the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Part I Examination was investigated. The Debilitating Anxiety Scale was completed by 62 second-year medical students before taking the NBME Examination. Debilitating test anxiety has been described as anxiety that interferes with test…

Recent emphasis on stricter educational accountability measures has resulted in a profusion of educational and psychological tests available in today's market. This ERIC Digest has been prepared to meet educators' needs to find information about tests quickly and easily. Three resources discussed are the Test Collection database, the Mental…

It is essential that testing personnel devise methods to communicate understandable and usable information about the effects of schooling to the public. (Author)

Some of the results of the first-round testing in science of the National Assessment of Educational Progress are mentioned. (DT) Aspect of National Assessment (NAEP) dealt with in this document: Results (Overview).

The study reported here attempted to discover by employing different geographical techniques at which stages certain abilities - generalization and comparability - develop in children. (Author)

This article (in French with no translation) describes the development and evaluation of tests designed for French-speaking students in Ontario. (MBM)

Outlines the purposes of pretests and considerations in their construction. (JR)

For a teacher striving to make the most efficient use of time in math class, this study advocates the use of answer keys by the students as an effective method for facilitating rapid growth in math skills and for aiding in retention of what has been learned. (Editor)