The idea that America was being harmed because its schools were not keeping up with those in other advanced nations emerged after Sputnik in 1957, took a firm hold on education policy when "A Nation at Risk" appeared in 1983, and continues today. Policy makers justify this concern by pointing to evidence showing that, for individuals…

This edited volume covers the range of critical trends in the use of computers and other devices for classroom teaching, online learning, professional development, school improvement, and student assessment. "Spotlight on Technology in Education" draws on expert sources including teacher-leaders, librarians, researchers, and trainers who…

Section 1008.30 (formerly 240.117), Florida Statutes, requires the State Board of Education to develop and implement a common placement testing program to assess the basic computation and communication skills of students who intend to enter a degree program at any public community college or state university. Every year the State provides reports…

This article, written as a memo to the author's friend in response to an earlier conversation, compares the American education system with that of Japan. First, the author examines cultural differences between Japan and America as a lens through which to look at these two countries. Then, Japanese and American schooling are compared in terms of…

Test disclosure legislation in New York State (LaValle Act) has had a major impact on the national testing programs administered by Educational Testing Services (ETS) for various sponsoring organizations. The paper reviews the immediate operational effects of test disclosure in the following areas: (1) increase in number of test forms developed;…

THE EVALUATION OF AN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM TYPICALLY IMPLIES MEASUREMENT. MEASUREMENT, IN TURN, IMPLIES TESTING IN ONE FORM OR ANOTHER. IN ORDER TO CARRY OUT THE TESTING NECESSARY FOR THE EVALUATION OF AN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM, RESEARCHERS OFTEN DEVELOP A COMPLETE TESTING SUB-PROGRAM. THE EVALUATION OF THE TOTAL PROJECT MAY DEPEND UPON THE TESTING…

Due to the problems inherent in using a norm-reference test such as the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) to determine pupil achievement, a comparison of ITBS with the Individually Prescribed Instruction (IPI) continuum and placement tests was undertaken. This yielded the following conclusions: Of the 136 items on test 1-A Arithmetic Concepts, 14…

This symposium discussed the problems school systems have with their testing programs, and presented as a model for discussion the approach used by the Madison (Wisconsin) Public Schools to redesign their system-wide testing program. The symposium looks at the traditional school district testing program and finds it dysfunctional and inadequate.…

The average ball velocity in an overarm throw was significantly higher in a gymnasium than in a laboratory. (MB)

The Florida Association of Professional Health Educators' process for developing a registration and certification system for professional health educators in Florida included forming a planning committee; determining initial registration requirements; formulationg record-keeping procedures and fee structures; developing implementation and…

Presented is an integer-programming approach to item pool design that can be used to calculate an optimal blueprint for an item pool to support an existing testing program. The results are optimal in the sense that they minimize the efforts involved in actually producing the items as revealed by current item writing patterns. Also presented is an…

A successful marriage between counseling and testing must be based on mutual beliefs and expectations. AMEG can provide test users and test specialists with a means for agreement on some realistic expectations for the marriage between counseling and testing. (Author)

Test bias detection methods based on item response theory (IRT) are reviewed. Five such methods are commonly used: (1) equality of item parameters; (2) area between item characteristic curves; (3) sums of squares; (4) pseudo-IRT; and (5) one-parameter-IRT. A table compares these and six newer or less tested methods. (SLD)