Intended for use by employment and training staff, especially test coordinators and administrators, counselors, and instructors, this guidebook provides an understanding of eight essential tasks in planning and implementing a testing and assessment program. It is divided into three parts. The introductory section explains the purposes of the book,…

Three sets of goals useful for assessing student competencies in speaking and listening are reviewed in this paper. The first instrument examined, derived from a report of that Speech Communication Association's National Project on Speech Communication Competencies for all grades, lists (1) five assumptions concerning the nature of communication…

The problem of a perceived decline in secondary school students' reading comprehension and the efforts of one high school English department head to address that problem are described in this paper. The first section of the paper presents an extensive documentation of the decline in reading comprehension and of reactions by state and local…

The lack of communication between educators and employers concerning the characteristics of a successful worker is explored. The need for a stronger emphasis on positive affective work competencies (work values, habits, and attitudes) is demonstrated. The failure of many educators to help their students develop proper work habits and attitudes is…

Twenty-four high schools in 18 Georgia school systems were selected to participate in a project to check the potential validity, reliability, usefulness, and costs of several direct and indirect measures of writing: holistic, analytic, primary trait, writing mechanics (error counts), and indirect measures (objective multiple choice items). Another…

The testing of non-English dominant children cannot be achieved through written examinations that demand reading proficiency and that fail to ascertain the strengths or weaknesses of individual performance. Nor can an oral proficiency test, involving a lengthy tension-inducing interview and relatively inconclusive scoring, provide the information…

Focusing on basic welding, this module is one of eight included in the Vocational Education Readiness Test (VERT). The module begins by listing the objectives of the module and describing tools and equipment needed. The remainder of the module contains sections on manipulative skills, trade vocabulary, tool identification, trade computation…

Focusing on welding, this module is one of eight included in the Vocational Education Readiness Tests (VERT). The module begins by listing the objectives of the module and describing tools and equipment needed. The remainder of the module contains sections on manipulative skills, trade vocabulary, tool identification, trade computational skills,…

The determination of who shall receive bilingual education services is distributed among the federal, state, and local policy levels. This study explores how each level exercises that discretion. It examines targeting, identification, and assessment criteria set forth in federal and state legislation, and how a limited number of local districts…

One of ten studies commissioned to investigate research needs and to stimulate planning activities, this paper identifies and summarizes key issues within the area of second language teaching. The discussion is developed in three main sections: (1) a summary of research efforts from 1960-1980; (2) identification of research gaps; and (3) statement…

This paper is one of ten that were commissioned to investigate research needs and to stimulate planning activities. Two underlying assumptions of this paper are that all Americans should have the opportunity to develop an ability to speak, read and write English well, and that all Americans should be encouraged to maintain or acquire a second…

Set against the backdrop of a decade in which college admissions test scores have declined, this report reviews issues affecting college admissions testing and their implications, and focuses specifically on the debate between the makers and supporters of standardized tests and test critics. Overviews of the College Entrance Examination Board's…

This handbook, in two parts, constitutes a manual prepared by the American Federation of Teachers, for improving teachers' use of standardized tests. Part I outlines basic concepts and issues surrounding standardized testing for teachers, parents and school administrators. The terms norm-referenced tests, criterion referenced tests, minimum…

Each of 1,067 articles selected for classification in this index were analyzed and individual annotations were written following specifically prepared guidelines. Entries are listed according to the following classification: reading in general; reviews and bibliographies; the correlates of reading, including general, intellectual,…

A teacher education learning module that focuses on evaluation of instruction for the purpose of determining if set educational goals are reached is described. Emphasis is on improving teachers' skills in utilizing evaluation techniques, including statistical concepts and testing procedures, and in selecting instructional programs and procedures.…