The Georgia State Department of Education administers criterion-referenced tests to all fourth-, eighth-, and tenth-grade students enrolled in public schools throughout Georgia. The testing program was initiated in the spring of 1976 with the administration of criterion-referenced tests in reading, mathematics, and career development to students…

The Cognitive Skills Assessment Battery (CSAB) is the readiness test administered to all first graders entering public school in South Carolina, mandated by the State Board of Education. It is an individually administered battery that is not timed, but requires about 25 to 30 minutes per child. Performance on the CSAB provides valuable information…

When the College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) was mandated in Florida, a schedule of incremental increases in the required passing scores was legislated. The 1986 passing standards were scheduled to be increased in 1989. This change was projected to reduce by half the number of students admitted to upper-level status at Florida's colleges. A…

This report summarizes the achievement information provided by state educational agencies for the Migrant Education Program, 1986-87. Of the 34 states submitting achievement information for the regular term, 27 used norm-referenced tests, 9 used criterion-referenced tests, and 2 used locally developed instruments. Of the 15 states submitting…

The Child Abuse Potential Inventory was completed by 56 Head Start staff. Because the Head Start program creates an environment where staff work almost exclusively with parents or with children, it was possible to examine the perceived differences among workers attracted to child or parent work. Scores for classroom and non-classroom staff were…

A study investigated the effects of specific guidelines in the taking and rating of tests of summarizing ability. The subjects were 63 native-Hebrew-speaking students enrolled in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) courses at the Seminar Hakibbutzim Teacher Training College in Tel Aviv (Israel). The subjects were given two sets of instructions…

A discussion of teaching and testing methods for children with disabilities focuses on techniques appropriate for use in developing countries. The book has several purposes. Its aims are to: (1) discuss practical, step-by-step methods that can be used readily in existing classrooms; (2) describe ideal methods and materials as long-term goals to…

The purpose of the practicum described in this report was to develop a competency-based vocational articulation pilot project between Mercer County Community College (MCCC) located in Trenton, New Jersey, and four secondary schools for three subjects: Typewriting I and II, Stenography I and II, and Office Procedures. Chapters I and II provide an…

Results from the fall 1987 administration of the Cognitive Skills Assessment Battery (CSAB) to 3,203 kindergarten and 4,415 first-grade students within the Charleston County (South Carolina) School District are presented. The CSAB is an individually administered readiness test that comprises a hybrid of aptitude tests, diagnostic tests, and…

An attempt was made to develop an objective instrument to assess a teacher's perceived engagement in reflective practice. A Reflective Teaching Instrument (RTI) was developed around three dimensions of reflective practice in teaching: (1) diagnosis (problem setting); (2) testing; and (3) personal causation. Indicators of each of the dimensions…

The primary purpose of the South Carolina Statewide Testing Program is to assess the achievement of fourth, seventh, and tenth grade public school students. Test results provide educators with information which facilitates the decision-making process. For the second time, Form U of the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills was the instrument used to…

Drawing from information submitted by 60 urban, rural, and suburban institutions, this report documents the progress of California's community colleges in implementing the first phase of a statewide matriculation plan. Introductory material defines matriculation as a process that promotes and sustains the efforts of students to reach their…

Test-wiseness is discussed in the newsletter of Programs for Educational Opportunity (PEO), a combined race, gender, and national origin desegregation assistance center providing technical information to eligible public schools in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. PEO is based on the belief that specific teaching of test…

Issues in preparing a review form to detect item bias in tests are discussed and the first draft of an item bias review form is presented. While stereotyping is the consistent representation of a given group in a particular light, bias is the presence of some characteristic of an item that results in differential performance of two individuals of…

This paper outlines some initiatives taken to change and improve senior high school programs and diploma requirements in Alberta, Canada, as originally stated in the June 1985 policy statement, "Secondary Education in Alberta." It is intended to assist educational groups planning to revise a senior high school program. It also presents…