This article first describes the growing trend of using criterion referenced tests, and then explores the need for setting standards for these types of tests. (RC)

The relationship between students' scores on a verbal meaning test and their degrees of confidence in item responses was investigated. Subjects were black undergraduate students and they were administered a verbal meaning test by following a confidence testing procedure. (Author/BJG)

Surveys the needs for effective teachers and discusses how tests meet those needs, arguing that differences in test achievement attained by minority applicants need not be attributed to genetic differences, nor should differences in test achievement necessarily be attributed to bias in the tests. (JM)

Note that judgments about the relationship of test items to actual job duties have generally been made as a single comparison, proposes a model for analyzing the accuracy of translations for each step of the process of test development for use in personnel administration, and suggests scaling procedures appropriate for the various judgments. (JM)

The purpose of this paper is to describe a set of procedures, that, when carried out, permit the conclusion that a test is a fair measure from the standpoint of specific sub-groups within a test population. A fair test is defined as a test for which a set of data-collection procedures have been carried out and the results reported. (Author/JM)

This study evaluated the Five P's (Parent/Professional Preschool Performance Profile) observational scale through which preschool teachers and parents evaluate the behavior of disabled or nondisabled children in natural settings while the children interact with familiar adults over prolonged periods of time. Developmental skills and interfering…

The contribution of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) to education is described, and the most frequently asked questions about its use are addressed. The SAT became a prominent tool in college admissions when the members of the College Board recognized in the 1930's that the Board's program of very specific subject-matter tests was no longer…

Since speech communication evaluators are beginning to adapt the analytic and holistic instruments and methods used for rating written products to oral products and performance, this research review investigated: (1) what the labels "analytic" and "holistic" mean; (2) the theoretical bases of the two scoring approaches; and (3)…

The Client Observation Checklist (COC) was developed to evaluate Project ADAPT's intervention in three behavioral areas: bathing; dressing; and socialization. Project ADAPT is designed to provide services to meet the needs of chronically mentally ill residents of nursing homes. Specifically, the project provides staff trained to work with the…

This report summarizes findings on 26 National Teacher Examination specialty area tests provided by faculty reviewers from five Oregon institutions of higher education. Reviewers were asked to judge tests on the basis of: (1) whether students at the reviewer's institution would have the opportunity to acquire the knowledge measured in test items;…

This volume presents papers that dicusss the need for more systematic and rigorous research programs to monitor the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines and their various implementations. "A Progress Report on the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines, 1982-1986" (David V. Hiple), traces the…

The validity of the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-Revised (PDQ-R) was examined. The PDQ-R and the Crowne-Marlowe Social Desirability Scale (SD) were administered in the spring of 1989 to 45 undergraduates (26 females and 19 males) at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. One month later, the Hopkins Symptom Check List (SCL-90) was…

This study investigates the validity of the Stanford Binet Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition (S-B:4) for use with students with learning disabilities. It compares the performance of 18 elementary-age students on the S-B:4 and the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC). The subjects were identified by their school as having learning…

This report is a summary of the Basic Skills Task Force activities covering the period from August 1982 to June 30, 1983. The Task Force was created by the West Virginia Board of Education in 1982. The report provides information on the historical background of the Task Force, a summary of how it functioned, and recommendations of the Task Force…