Presents a study to assess scientific literacy of a group of students at a moderately sized midwestern university (n=90). Describes the methodology used to create a multiple-choice test field tested on 75 elementary preservice teachers. Outcomes indicate that achievement was not influenced by age, sex, high school size, or a possible future career…

A computerized method is described whereby a mirror image pair of drawings, simultaneously drawn by the right and the left hands, can be compared. This BASIC computer program, which is available from the authors, has applications to a variety of psychological studies. (Author/JJK)

This paper presents a primer on building a scientifically oriented teacher evaluation instrument. It stresses the importance of accurate measures and accepts the presupposition that scientific approaches provide the most accurate measures of student teacher performance. The paper discusses the scientific concepts of validity and reliability, and…

This paper highlights measurement issues faced when attempting to assess and interpret results of a school improvement project. Based on the assumption that to measure effectiveness, one must measure a wide variety of school factors, the paper presents a broad perspective on measurement problems and dilemmas in analyzing norm-referenced test data…

Two major issues related to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are explored: (1) the roles and responsibilities of federal and state education agencies in reformulating NAEP to facilitate comparisons among states; and (2) problems and solutions in aligning or accounting for differences between national assessment objectives and…

Issues in designing valid tests for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are discussed. Test scores are often provided without any information on the nature of the tasks represented. Because test domains are defined by individual item writers, the generalizability between tests and items is suspect. While typical content…

This paper evaluates the procedures and results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in science. A brief description of the 1981-82 assessment, funded by the National Science Foundation, precedes a discussion of strengths and weaknesses of the current science assessment program, conducted by Educational Testing Service. Major…

Future issues in educational and occupational testing were discussed at the 1985 Educational Testing Service (ETS) Invitational Conference. Gregory R. Anrig, ETS President, predicted that advances in cognitive psychology and technology would influence tests to serve individuals more than institutions, to help individuals learn and succeed, and to…

A dilemma arises in the attempt to establish procedures for valid assessment of academic learning. Measures of learning with high pedagogical validity often have poor psychometric properties. Conversely, tests that are well-constructed by psychometric standards may succeed in sorting and ordering students or schools, but have little pedagogical…

Knowledge Management can be defined as a systematic process that creates, captures, shares, and analyzes knowledge in ways that directly improve performance. The goal of Knowledge Management is to improve the creation, dissemination, and exploitation of knowledge for the purpose of building competitive advantage. The proper use of knowledge…

Issues related to ability testing and affirmative action are discussed, including the fair use of tests in academic and occupational selection, the effects of testing upon the tested individual, and implications of the issues for the major participants. Types and functions of ability tests, both aptitude and achievement, are described. Studies of…

A classical model for achievement test development was influenced by: the educational tradition of selecting a sample of questions appropriate to a subject and counting the proportion of acceptable responses; the emphasis on obtaining a large and homogeneous sample of questions to insure reliability; and the tradition in psychological testing of…

The five papers included in this collection illustrate the current concerns of those involved in the development and implementation of assessment procedures. A one year in-course assessment procedure conducted at Leicester University is described, including the advantages and disadvantages of the procedure. The problems of interpreting the results…

This paper discusses the use of process-oriented research in early childhood programs. Process analysis is contrasted with outcome-oriented evaluation, the latter seen as prevalent in current research practice. Four functions of process analysis are: to describe current teaching practices, to train teachers, to monitor instructional programs, and…

In 1998, the National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education issued a report calling on the nation's colleges and universities to increase their public accountability and to develop better consumer information about costs and prices. In response, the staff of the National Association of College and University Business Officers began to…