The performance of pupils, individual schools, and the Wichita Public School System is depicted in a quantitative report of the results of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) administered as part of the system's basic testing program. The ITBS battery measured vocabulary, reading, language, work-study and mathematics skills and results are given…

This report describes the procedures followed in scoring the October 1978 Florida Minimal Writing Production Skills Assessment and reports the results of that assessment. The assessment was conducted on a sample of Florida public school students in grades 3, 5, 8, and 11. Sections include descriptions of the rating scale and scorer's guide as well…

The South Carolina Basic Skills Assessment Program (BSAP), a testing program, presents information to determine how successfully children in individual school districts are achieving the minimum basic skills required by South Carolina law. Each year BSAP tests are given to children entering the first grade and to children in grades 1, 2, 3, 6, 8,…

Since 1979, New York State has been working on an instrument to evaluate elementary school students' writing ability. Several thousand writing samples were obtained and were analyzed, by a test development committee consisting of elementary school teachers, qualitatively within each grade as high, average, and low, and in terms of organization and…

The performance of baccalaureate nursing school graduates on the new National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) was compared to graduates' performance on the old examination, the State Board Test Pool Examination (SBTPE). Data were gathered for 287 graduates who took the SBTPE between 1979-1981 and 175 graduates who took the NCLEX in 1982 and…

This booklet contains the mathematics test (computation and applications) of the Wisconsin Pupil Assessment Program for grade 4. The test consists of 78 items ranging from the measurement of arithmetic skills to knowledge of basic concepts in computer science. (JN)

Drawing on findings of two Center for the Study of Community College (CSCC) projects, this paper reviews some of the services offered by community colleges to facilitate transfer to four-year institutions. Introductory material provides background on the low rates of student transfer and on the CSCC projects, which involve 6 large urban community…

In 1982, a survey of California community colleges was conducted to determine which standardized tests were being used at entrance to college for matriculation and/or placement and to ascertain how satisfied users were with the instruments. Surveys were sent to administrators or staff involved with entrance and assessment practices at 106…

Due to the current legislative trend toward competency-based education, and the accompanying minimal competency testing, a variety of local school districts and state education agencies are concurrently developing programs to meet the standards set by their state's legislation. This selective bibliography was compiled in order to aid those…

In the spring of 1980, the Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DODDS) completed its second year of basic skills testing. During the first year, the Basic Skills Assessment Program tested students' math skills in grades 7 and 11, and reading and language skills in grades 9 and 11. During the second year, the testing program was expanded to…

This model is based on the belief that all those affected by a competency-based high school diploma program should help formulate it. School systems should begin by considering two fundamental questions: (1) What competencies should all graduates possess? (2) How can these competencies be tested? The first step is the establishment of an advisory…

Some uses of achievement tests to provide information for school administrators are described. Three systematic programs are described briefly: (1) a computer-based approach to management and planning designed to answer what is to be learned, how is it to be learned, and has it been learned; (2) a problem solving design for accountability that…

This is the third of three volumes designed to cover the problems and issues of developing and managing a formal assessment program. They also offer guidelines and illustrations of several of the more special aspects of assessment programs, such as administering tests or documenting their results. This volume contains summaries of technical…

In spring l977, a five-member team used the Shepard evaluation method to review the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP). The team's activities were the initial stage of a complete formative MEAP assessment. The Shepard evaluation method consists of a checklist which provides nearly 50 topics to investigate when conducting an evaluation…

The profiles of the California Statewide assessment program permit comparison of a district's test performance with that of previous years and of other districts. After a brief explanation of the tests' development, content, administration, and limitations, this interpretive guide explains how the results are displayed in the district profiles. A…