The South Carolina Basic Skills Assessment Program (BSAP) measures 16 basic skills objectives as mandated by legislation enacted in 1978. The BSAP Reading and Mathematics Tests were administered April 17 through 21, 1989. The tests for grades 1, 2, 3, 6, and 8 consisted of 6 multiple-choice questions for each of the 11 objectives in reading and…

The MAT-6 Writing Test (The Psychological Corporation, 1986) was administered to Oklahoma students in grades 7 and 10 in February 1989, in compliance with state law. The inception, implementation procedures, assessment instruments, and results of the Writing Assessment Component of the Oklahoma School Testing Program are described. District-level…

A procedure was developed to detect differential item functioning (DIF) in a standardized essay test using the Partial Credit Model, the general polychotomous form of the Rasch model. Using a panel of experts in the writing process, hypothesized explanations for DIF at some score points were developed. Data for the study included averaged…

In December 1993, children who were in grade 3 in the Trenton Public Schools (New Jersey) in 1985-86 will take a high-risk writing proficiency test to determine whether they will graduate from high school. An emerging study of the writing of the Class of 1995 in Trenton is described as students move toward that test. The activity of studying…

On February 3, 1988, the Citizens Commission set forth the Ohio Challenge: Education 2000, an overall plan to move Ohio's public education system into the 21st century. This report reviews the findings of the Ohio Education 2000 Commission and numerous national studies. The members have attempted to define for the citizens of Ohio the specific…

The correlative features of assigned reading and in-class performance were evaluated for 75 students enrolled in psychology classes in two community colleges in Maryland. Four tests and a final examination were used to measure in-class performance as a function of rates of reading and times of attendance. Control for content was attempted by…

A new computer-based approach for teaching counselors about predictive validity and how to use tests in clinical decision making was developed and tested. The approach is based on concepts similar to those used in inferential statistics, particularly statistical hypothesis testing. To implement this model, the counselor must: (1) determine the…

Background information is provided about the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) reading test, a test developed to meet the objectives specified by the State Board of Education in 1986. The revised test measures reading in a more interactive manner than did previous tests. The rationale of the test is presented, the revised reading…

The extent of inaccuracy in student coding of race on Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) forms and the effect of inaccurate coding and non-coding on results for the Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools are assessed. The County maintains a database that includes each student's race as designated by the student's parent on the school registration…

TEMAS is an apperception test depicting Hispanic and Black characters (minority version) or White characters (non-minority version) interacting in urban settings and expressing culturally oriented themes. It is scored for cognitive, affective, and personality functioning. The normative profiles, reliability, and criterion-related validity of TEMAS…

A study of Greek speakers' ability to understand and produce two varieities of codes--Katharevousa (K) and Demotic (D)--is reported. The investigation was undertaken to provide evidence supporting or refuting the Greek government's decision to legislate Demotic as the official language of the country. A sample of 545 informants were tested with a…

Two school entrance assessments were compared to determine whether or not they are theoretically unique approaches to kindergarten screening. The first test was the "Brigance K and 1 Screen" (Brigance, 1982), a kindergarten entrance assessment which focuses on perceptual-motor development, background experience, and rote memory as…

School achievement attributions for success and failure were examined for American and Polish preadolescents between the ages of 12 and 13 years. The American sample included 115 preadolescents (53 males and 62 females), and the Polish sample included 64 children (34 males and 30 females). The American subjects came from a suburban racially…

A study investigated the retention and loss of school-learned foreign language skills. Subjects were 150 students of Dutch secondary schools with 4 or 6 years of French language instruction and 0, 2, and 4 years of disuse. Nine tests of general language proficiency, listening and reading comprehension, phonology, vocabulary, and grammar were…

Limitations of using linear, unilevel regression procedures in modeling student achievement are discussed. This study is a part of a broader study that is developing an empirically-based predictive model of variables associated with academic achievement from a multilevel perspective and examining the differences by which parameters are estimated…