Thirty language and articulation tests for preschool children were reviewed using 10 psychometric criteria appropriate to norm-referenced tests. Half of the reviewed tests met no more than two criteria, and only three tests met over four criteria. Most frequently unmet criteria were those requiring empirical evidence of validity and reliability.…

Discusses the historical and present situation in second language testing in the United States, with respect to the major measurement trends represented. Suggests a number of desirable development activities for the future that may help to build on several current initiatives in the field that already show substantial promise for facilitating…

The language research study was designed to compare first, the meanings of concrete words having visual connotations and second, the groupings or clusters of adjective scales resulting from factor analysis as they were used by 143 blind, partially sighted, and normal school-age children. (CB)

The author uses a brief discussion of the many seemingly successful attempts to find a context for Chomsky's supposedly meaningless sentence Colorless green ideas sleep furiously," as a starting point for a discussion of devising multiple choice vocabulary tests where the correct choice is clear and unambigous. (FB)

Features of the writing tests reported on here were: the presentation of instructions by means of tapes and written guidelines, and emphasis on factual rather than imaginative subjective matter, and a standardized system of grading. (FWB)

Greater understanding of language and social forces constraining language performance has complicated the view of language as a code and the learner as an object to be conditioned. Serious questions arise, then, regarding effective testing of linguistic/communicative competence and the use of test results for educational decision making.…

Suggests using an immediate recall protocol, in which students read a passage as often as they like, surrender the text and then write down everything they can remember, as a way to circumvent the pitfalls of traditional test design and focus on communication between test and reader. (EKN)

Provides short descriptions of the major standardized language proficiency tests currently available for English and French as a second language. Contains annotated lists of references on testing global language proficiency and communicative competence and on the testing of individual skill proficiencies. (EKN)