A profile method was used to analyze the patterns of four English proficiency tests (Comprehensive English Language Test for Speakers of English as a Second Language: Structure, CELT: Listening, Reading for Understanding Test, and The New Cloze Test) regarding two examinee characteristics: their language proficiency levels and native language. One…

Student withdrawal from the University of Iowa was studied using an exit survey. Students' reasons for leaving the university, their future plans, and possible interventions that would have assisted the student to remain in school were assessed, along with the validity of the survey. Although there was only 62 percent agreement between the exit…

A concurrent validation analysis was conducted for the recently developed Test of Spoken English (TSE), using as an external criterion the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) direct proficiency interviewing procedure. Use-related validation data for the TSE were obtained as a predictor of the communicative effectiveness in English of non-native…

Until recently, older workers have not been recognized as a group requiring special attention in the area of fair employment practices. Thus, progress has been slow towards the development of valid and reliable indices of performance which are applicable across the life span. Research shows that many measures of employee evaluation provide no…

Arguing that educational testing has not grown with the theory and knowledge base of the reading field, this paper cites the current configuration of testing as a major contributor to the instructional stagnation, methodological back-to-basics movement, and general lack of excitement and true innovation found in classrooms and schools today. The…

Twenty-four high schools in 18 Georgia school systems were selected to participate in a project to check the potential validity, reliability, usefulness, and costs of several direct and indirect measures of writing: holistic, analytic, primary trait, writing mechanics (error counts), and indirect measures (objective multiple choice items). Another…

Set against the backdrop of a decade in which college admissions test scores have declined, this report reviews issues affecting college admissions testing and their implications, and focuses specifically on the debate between the makers and supporters of standardized tests and test critics. Overviews of the College Entrance Examination Board's…

This handbook, in two parts, constitutes a manual prepared by the American Federation of Teachers, for improving teachers' use of standardized tests. Part I outlines basic concepts and issues surrounding standardized testing for teachers, parents and school administrators. The terms norm-referenced tests, criterion referenced tests, minimum…

As a supplement to standardized reading tests, the Philadelphia Public School System prepared three parallel sets of reading tests to meet the following criteria: (1) be suitable for grouping secondary pupils within Title I reading classes; (2) be group administered and machine scoreable; (3) be short enough to be administered in one or two…

The York University Biology Achievement Test (YUBAT) and its use in the Metropolitan Toronto (Ontario) schools were examined. YUBAT was compared with the province's grade 13 biology curriculum guideline, and with representative courses and textbooks. This analysis revealed much similarity between the test, courses, and two textbooks used. The…

The Adaptive Behavior Scale, as developed, contains 10 domains of behavior reflecting independent functioning and social-emotional responsibility in Part One, and 14 domains of behavior appraising social-emotional adaptation in Part Two. The establishment of construct validity and standardization of the Scale for use with normal and handicapped…

The Student's Perception of Ability Scale (SPAS) was developed in response to a need for a reliable and valid instrument to measure academic, rather than general, self-concept in elementary school children. This scale was designed for use with children in Grades 3 to 6. Descriptive data on the SPAS were discussed in terms of its substantive,…

Papers presented at the Military Testing Association Conference focused on technical information and experience in the area of personnel management. Papers were contributed by representatives of American and foreign business, educational, and military communities. Topics for the 17 sections comprising the conference were: (1) Occupational surveys;…

The relationship among writing assessment strategies which may be applicable to competency based testing was examined in a study involving 128 high school students in six English classes in grades 11 and 12. Each student wrote two essays of at least 200 words on topics designed to test expository, or explanatory writing, and completed an objective…

The efficacy of second dentition, the number of erupted teeth, as an index in assessing school readiness was examined. A series of cognitive, achievement, and social-emotional instruments were administered to a group of 41 first- and 43 second-grade children. The tests used in this study were: Devereux Elementary School Behavior Rating Scale,…