The developer of the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth Program (SMPY) recounts his impressions during a tour of education programs in the People's Republic of China, addressing the apparent love of learning, emphasis on mathematical achievement, scholarly activities of university faculty, and testing issues. (CB)

The article examines problems in the traditional assessment procedures used with the physically handicapped and discusses the use of adaptive behavior scales with emphasis on application of the results through a multidisciplinary approach. Selected adaptive behavior scales are described, and guidelines for test administration with the physically…

Marking strategies used in the Danish school system from the compulsory Folkeskole level through higher education are described, with emphasis on "the 13-Scale." Problems, impacts, recent developments, and trends in marking strategies and the communication of their meaning are discussed. (BS)

Discusses the Document Based Question (DBQ) as a way of assessing critical thinking skills. Examines several weaknesses with this type of test item and offers suggestions for overcoming them. Advocates the method continue to be used. (JDH)

Explores the history of testing, motivations for testing, testing procedures, and the inevitable limitations of testing. Argues that writing program faculty and administrators must clarify and profess their values, decide what they want students to know and what sort of thinkers they should be, and develop tests reflecting those needs. (SR)

Contains three articles designed to help practitioners with practical assessment for the GCSE. Articles include: "GCSE Biology Practical Assessment--Can the End Justify the Means?"; "Investigating the Effect of Catalase: GCSE Assessment Practical"; and "An Experimental Design for GCSE Physics." (CW)

Offers a historical perspective on testing in U.S. education, arguing that nationwide emphases on student assessment have been linked to vacillations in public confidence in the nation's educational system. Compares the focus on assessment that followed the expansion of secondary education between 1890 and 1935 with the current assessment…

Offers a synthesis of the arguments for and against value-added testing (i.e., assessing how much students learn or improve or grow in school or college). Looks at alternative methods of measuring the value added in terms of the relationship between entry and exit skills. (DMM)

This article reviews developments in the field of educational measurement over the preceding 20 years, focusing on criterion-referenced measurement, item response theory, standard-setting methods, and equating methods. (TJH)

Provides an overview of legal issues concerning the testing of handicapped students and employees in elementary and secondary schools and in institutions of higher education. The first part of the paper summarizes the major specialized sources of applicable statutory and administrative law. The second part synthesizes the relevant case law.…

Changes in Scotland's curriculum have led to changes in student testing. A system of grade-related criteria has been developed--descriptions of expected performance in key aspects of a subject at different grade levels. (GDC)

The Presidential Address at the 1986 National Council on Measurement in Education Annual Meeting argues that measurement specialists have tended to set unrealistic aspirations for the role tests play. The conjunctive decision making model is discussed and the use of data in the conjunctive and compensatory decision making models is examined. (JAZ)

During 1969 the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement began a series of cross-cultural studies to investigate the workings of multiple-choice achievement tests and student guessing behaviors. Empirical models to correct for guessing are discussed in terms of test item difficulty, number of response choices,…

Discusses 32 studies which address the relationship between creative drama and language skills. Also provides a chart that includes the following information on each study: drama treatment, language measurement instruments, population, control group or alternate treatment, significant results, conclusions, and other factors studied. (PD)

The author argues that scoring, reporting, and deriving final grades can be considerably assisted by using a computer. He also contends that the savings in time and the computer database formed will allow instructors to determine test quality and reflect on the quality of instruction. (BW)