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)…

A checklist of characteristics of effective mail questionnaires was developed that reflects some degree of consensus among experts in survey research and that can serve as a guide to novices designing a questionnaire. Journal and book sources of information about mail questionnaires were reviewed to yield 83 items in 7 categories that comprised…

A balanced appraisal of holistic scoring of writing is presented via: examination of the present popularity of holistic scoring; analysis of several weaknesses associated with the holistic scoring method; and recommendations for remedying these weaknesses. Six reasons for the popularity of holistic scoring are: (1) relative lack of expense; (2)…

Addressing the implications of quality standards and performance measures for California's adult education system, this document focuses on skill assessment and testing systems as a core performance measure. Following an executive summary, the first chapter is an introduction that includes an overview of recommendation 7 of the l989 Strategic Plan…

A study was undertaken to develop a valid, reliable measure of coping skills for use with hearing impaired adolescents. Subjects included 324 adolescents, aged 15 to 17 years. Through the permission of schools and parents and the cooperation of the Annual Survey of Hearing Impaired Children and Youth of the Center for Assessment and Demographic…

Factors affecting a lower-bound estimate of internal consistency reliability, Cronbach's coefficient alpha, are explored. Theoretically, coefficient alpha is an estimate of the correlation between two tests drawn at random from a pool of items like the items in the test under consideration. As a practical matter, coefficient alpha can be an index…

A brief overview is presented of the current status of mandatory testing in the United States, and of some of the problems involved. While the testing of teacher candidates is generally approved, both the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association oppose the testing of veteran teachers. It is suggested that leadership…

When the Mesa, Arizona Public Schools initiated an ambitious writing instruction program in 1978, two assessments based on student writing samples were developed. The first is based on a ninth grade proficiency test. If the student does not pass the test, high school remediation is provided. After 1987, students must pass this test in order to…

This paper dealt with the use of classroom observation data for formative evaluation purposes, and with a research project in which scores based on observed performance of teachers in secondary school algebra and English classes were compared with efficiency scores based on an input-output model. The model, using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)…

A study of the stability of teacher behavior over time was formulated through two major questions: (1) Is the behavior of an individual teacher consistent over time? and (2) Are individual differences among teachers consistent over time? Regrettably, the first question has rarely been considered in previous investigations of the stability of…

The purpose of this paper is to document existing research on the test performance of handicapped people with respect to admissions and other similar tests. In addition, the psychometric characteristics of these tests when used with handicapped people are reported. Though much more data needs to be collected, several observations are made.…

This paper, as an illustration of the procedures involved in a cooperative effort, describes a project in which the Southwest Regional Laboratory (SWRL) designed and developed a minimum standards test in collaboration with a large urban school district in California. The activity described focuses on the writing sample included in the test. The…