The information and activities in this guide are offered to teachers who want to familiarize their fifth grade students with test taking techniques. The introductory sections of the guide discuss the types of tests administered to fifth grade students, test wisdom in general, characteristics of fifth grade students, the teacher's role in testing…

Twenty-three high school biology students were individually administered three conservation tasks (weight, volume, volume displacement). During one semester, they were examined over the course material using published Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) Blue Version examination questions which were previously classified as requiring either…

Some evidence supports the hypothesis that formal operational reasoning ability (at least that measured by Piagetian tasks) is a unified process. The purpose of this research was to determine: (1) if conservation tasks, such as conservation of number, liquid amount, weight and volume, are unifactor; and (2) if conservation tasks form a scale of…

Chapter 4 of a book on school law, this chapter focuses on 1979 cases involving students. The author notes that in 1979 most unresolved legal issues in this area involved handicapped children. He finds disagreement among the holdings in these cases about the limits of a district's responsibility to provide special services to the handicapped. It…

Perspectives on testing and affirmative action are considered. The following issue areas are addressed: the validity and fairness of admission tests; information relevant to the admission of students that is not readily scored or quantified and that may be obtained through interviews, recommendations, accomplishments, and other information…

Findings from the Iowa Assessment Project are examined regarding the assessment and use of information on adaptive behavior and sociocultural background in decisions about students with mild mental retardation. Background aspects reviewed include terminology regarding mild retardation; research, litigation, and legislation on the topic during the…

This report describes the results of Connecticut's second statewide assessment of mathematical knowledge, skills and attitudes. The Connecticut Assessment of Educational Progress annually tests a sample of Connecticut students in grades 4, 8, and 11 in one or more subject areas. Students at each grade level were randomly selected to participate in…

This user's manual provides information suggesting various ways in which educational personnel may wish to utilize the eight modules included in the Vocational Education Readiness Test (VERT). The introductory section presents questions which can be used by school personnel to determine whether or not VERT will be useful in their school system.…

A study was conducted to compare tailored testing procedures based on a Bayesian ability estimation technique and on a maximum likelihood ability estimation technique. The Bayesian tailored testing procedure selected items so as to minimize the posterior variance of the ability estimate distribution, while the maximum likelihood tailored testing…

To improve Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) participant assessment systems in Virginia, a project identified assessment systems and techniques/tools used by prime sponsors and developed an assessment model. It also identified key personnel of educational institutions in the prime sponsor area. A mail survey was followed by on-site…

This manual contains statistical information on the examinations administered by the National Occupational Competency Testing Institute (NOCTI) to measure occupational competencies of experienced craftsmen in twenty-six trade specialties. (More detailed information on the program and on the scope of the examinations is provided in a separate…

Self-regulation by autonomous occupationally-dominated boards creates an inherent conflict of interest. Consumers are wondering whether what they get by way of protection is worth the economic and social costs. Perhaps the weakest links in the regulatory chain are enforcement and discipline. Few practitioners are suspended or have their licenses…

A philosophical and pragmatic critique is offered of the pedagogical dilemmas confronting the educational establishment. It is argued that higher education institutions at present have no clear idea of what a liberal arts education ought to accomplish, what its scope ought to be, and how its goals ought to be reached. The academic community is…

An information processing approach was applied to the development and validation of a test battery intended for personnel selection, classification, and guidance; and design of training programs. The approach specifies that tests should measure specific cognitive processes and basic abilities, rather than prior experience. Tests should be short,…

The Community College Motivation Inventory (CCMI), devised to have special relevance to college educational and counseling objectives, is based on the interaction of three areas of motivation: intrinsic versus practical, action-oriented needs; status-seeking motives; and group versus one-to-one interpersonal relations. The three factors--Intrinsic…