For the most part, standardized tests are verbal and presuppose that the test takers know the language, culture, and values of the test makers, who usually represent white, middle class language and values. The communication problems that minority groups face when taking standardized tests include phonological biases (especially when the tests are…

FOR THIS RESEARCH, A TEST WAS SAID TO BE BIASED FOR MEMBERS OF A SUBGROUP OF THE POPULATION IF, IN THE PREDICTION OF A CRITERION FOR WHICH THE TEST WAS DESIGNED, CONSISTENT NONZERO ERRORS OF PREDICTION ARE MADE FOR MEMBERS OF THE SUBGROUP. SAMPLES OF NEGRO AND WHITE STUDENTS FROM THREE INTEGRATED COLLEGES WERE STUDIED. IN THE TWO EASTERN COLLEGES,…

COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE APPLICATION BLANKS WERE EVALUATED WITH SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THEIR VALUE IN PERSONNEL SELECTION. EXTENSION AGENT APPLICATION BLANKS FROM THE 50 STATE EXTENSION SERVICES WERE ANALYZED TO DETERMINE COMMON AND UNUSUAL ITEMS. RESPONSES SUBMITTED BY 194 APPLICANTS TO THE MINNESOTA COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE WERE ALSO…

IN ORDER TO DEVELOP AN INTELLIGENCE TEST FOR PRESCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN THAT WOULD OVERCOME SOME OF THE LIMITATIONS OF AVAILABLE TESTS, A PERCEPTUAL DISCRIMINATION TEST USING POLYGONAL FORMS HAS BEEN DESIGNED AND TESTED. THE CHILD POINTS TO ONE OF TWO, THREE, OR FIVE FORMS MATCHING A STIMULUS FORM. INITIAL TESTING WITH 44 CHILDREN RANGING IN AGE FROM…

Different viewpoints regarding educational testing are described. While some people advocate continuing reliance upon standardized tests, others favor the discontinuation of such achievement and intelligence tests. The author recommends a moderate view somewhere between these two extremes. Problems associated with standardized testing in the…

The Stages of Concern (SoC) Questionnaire was developed in order to measure the attitudes of individuals toward innovation. The Concerns Based Adoption Model provided the theoretical basis for the instrument. According to this model, individuals are first concerned with themselves, later with the details of the task, and finally with the impact of…

Standardized reading tests exert a great influence on curriculum materials, teaching methods, and student perceptions of the nature of reading; these tests must reflect the best recent research findings. Passage dependency research has attempted to increase the accuracy of reading tests, and has focused on the following four areas: (1) reading…

The complexity of defining accurate passing scores with a minimum classification error when evaluating criterion-referenced, multiple-choice tests has been a major problem for classroom teachers. Therefore, a practical procedure in which the instructor determines the plausibility of each item option for the minimally acceptable examinee is…

In this booklet, papers presented at a 1978 conference on the implications of the Supreme Court's ruling in the Bakke case are reprinted. The issue of the constitutionality of special admissions programs for minority applicants is considered and related policy problems facing educators and political leaders are examined. The future of admissions…

Differences in the normative data presented in the Koppitz Scoring System for the Bender Gestalt Test (a measure for diagnosing learning and neurological disorders) were compared for 838 elementary age children of the Sioux, Chippewa, Navajo, and Apache tribes and a Koppitz normative group. Considered were mean error differences and mean time…

Multiple-choice items were used to measure knowledge of drug abuse among four distinct groups of college students in the Los Angeles area. No difference in knowledge was found about five aspects of drug abuse measured by subscales of the instrument. These findings suggest that knowledge about drugs is remarkably uniform, although the students…

The Michigan Department of Education implemented a large-scale social action program through its Compensatory Education School Aid Act of SY 1971-72. Schools received $200 per pupil and were held accountable for pupil achievement. This paper describes the educational delivery systems in three urban schools, the evaluation of pupil achievement, and…

The report is concerned with the feasibility of matching people and jobs as proposed by the Theory of Work Adjustment; according to the third proposition of this theory, satisfaction is a function of the correspondence between the reinforcer system of the work environment and the individual's needs, with certain qualification. In the study, the…

A method of obtaining performance predictive information concerning applicants to counselor training programs, in particular, and to similar interpersonally oriented programs for other fields, in general, is presented. The rationale for and method of the development of a work sample type instrument to simulate interpersonal interaction of the…

This paper reports on the results of seven questions asked to secondary level department chairmen regarding the unit tests which accompany textbook materials. Nearly 1,500 responses were received from teachers of French, German, and Spanish. The results indicate that most teachers do not use publishers tests when they are available. The…