The Assessment Tool for Moderately Retarded Students in Academic Skills (1978) is designed for moderately retarded students (5-21 years) and mildly retarded students (3-14 years) who will be living in sheltered home and work settings. The assessment tool is based on a life centered curricular model concerned with developing--in a sequential…

A study examined the reading skills of minority and bilingual auto mechanics and office workers in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in order to determine the relationship between the reading skills tested in competency-based exams given in high schools and those required for on-the-job performance. The first phase of the study included both…

More than 1,000 studies of reading research published between July 1, 1982, and June 30, 1983 are summarized in this report. The studies are arranged into six categories: (1) Summaries of Reading Research, (2) Teacher Preparation and Practice, (3) The Sociolgy of Reading, (4) Physiology and Psychology of Reading, (5) The Teaching of Reading, and…

The relationships typically existing between scores on reading tests and college grades are described. The four purposes are to: present some of the typical relationships between reading ability and college success; report upon some of the evidence supporting other possible predictors of college success; describe some of the problems associated…

This report describes the development and validation of the Test of Inference Ability in Reading Comprehension: a scaled-answer, multiple-choice test intended for use in Grades 6, 7, and 8. The report discusses the need for and conceptualization of assessment of inference ability; proposes standards and principles of inference appraisal; and…

Drawing on a cross-national study of children's reading, a study examined the correlates of reading success and failure in Taiwan. Subjects, 240 randomly selected Taipei fifth graders, were administered a reading test, cognitive test, and mathematics achievement test. A structured interview with each child's mother and classroom behavior…

Reading test data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) were scaled using the unidimensional item response theory model. Data were collected for students aged 9, 13, and 17. To determine whether the responses to the reading items were consistent with unidimensionality, four different methods were applied: (1) principal…

The cultural bias of the Adult Performance Level Assessment, Form AA-l (APLA) was examined. The potential influence of cultural differences on scores of a major ethnic group, Acadians or Cajuns, was investigated. Assessment items most prone to produce differences in scores were isolated and administered to selected groups. No significant…

The development and assessment of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test (WRMT) is described in this paper. The first section, after a brief description of the test, outlines the development of the test, including its purpose, how it was tested and calibrated, its administration and scoring, use and interpretation of scores obtained, and statistical…

Addressed to all concerned with reading assessment, including teachers, administrators, testmakers, and policymakers, this book describes some of the major problems involved in reading assessment and provides guidelines for the improved use of reading tests. The first chapter, on reading measurement in perspective, discusses the historical context…

Three different item-bank maintenance procedures were compared for the purpose of investigating their cumulative effects on a series of longitudinal equatings of tests measuring the same characteristic. Item data used resulted from Rasch one-parameter latent trait test calibrations. Comparison of the results in the various final banks were made.…

This study summarizes scholastic performance of Los Angeles City College (LACC) fall 1977 entering students according to last school attended prior to registering at LACC. Data were derived from a district computer center printout, "Grade Listing of Freshmen Fall 1977", which listed all students' names, units attempted and completed, grade points…

A battery of reading tests designed to identify the component skills involved in reading comprehension was administered to 624 sixth grade students in the metropolitan Sydney (Australia) schools. Factor analysis of the data showed that knowledge of word meanings, sentence comprehension, and semantic context are experimentally identifiable…

This paper discusses some specific issues about testing and relates the discussion to reading teachers and reading instruction. The issues that are discussed include the goals, criteria, and methods of classroom assessment. The paper concludes that teachers need to learn more about the process of assessment in order to use tests effectively, and…