Delineates three factors influencing the effectiveness of student placement programs: assessment data utilized, the academic system in which the student is placed, and the institution's commitment to evaluating the placement process. Reviews the procedures, statistical results, and findings of a Delhi College study of the English department…

Results of the pilot study indicated that the matching cloze procedure--which does not require language production skills--may provide the classroom teacher of educable mentally retarded children with an evaluation procedure which is both psychometrically and ontologically valid, as well as being easy to construct. (Author/DLS)

Six articles discuss testing and measurement in Soviet schools. Subjects include problems and reliability of psychological testing, methods for improvement, testing of teaching results, and teaching and evaluation of pupils' knowledge. (KC)

As more states adopt minimum competency testing (MCT) programs, MCT is becoming the subject of much debate among educators and in the courts. MCT has been attacked by those who claim it discriminates against Blacks and non-English-speaking minorities. Also raised in the MCT debate is the question of educational malpractice. (RLV)

Attempts to select empirically the optimal cutting score or criterion level for a test based on response data from validation samples of instructed and uninstructed students. This score maximizes the probability of correct mastery-nonmastery decisions (or minimizes the probability of incorrect decisions). (Author/RK)

One hundred and thirty-eight post-graduate students enrolled in a Diploma in Education course were tested for their ability to conserve weight and volume. A methodological criticism of the earlier work of Elkind (1962) and Towler & Wheatley (1971) is offered which casts doubt on the extremely high proportion of non-conservers of volume reported in…

In the debate about the effect of education and training on productivity the central problem has always been to find a satisfactory measure of productivity. Examines a test that is being used and which might be suitable for such purposes. (Author/RK)

Article is a statement by the Editorial Board of this journal in support of the move to comprehensive education. The need for reorganization of the examination system as the first condition for improvement of educational quality is stated. (RW)

Analyzed factorially various theoretically derived measures of conceptual systems functioning and several proposed measures and correlations. (Author/RK)

Sets out the rationale of the Assessment of Performance Unit, a development that represents part of the Department of Education and Science's demands for greater accountability by the educational service for the resources it consumes. (Editor/RK)

Discusses the use of disaggregation, or dividing students into groups based on performance levels, to help schools determine overall student achievement and causes of poor performance. Describes reasons for using disaggregation and provides answers to six common questions related to its implementation. Indicates that disaggregation can help all…

Asserts that concern for academic success across the curriculum should extend beyond raising test scores. Contends that in the wake of the terrorist acts of 9/11/01, issues of public security and civil liberties present an opportunity for teachers to teach the Constitution and its amendments in an effort to fight citizen ignorance. (SD)

It is argued that consequences are a logical part of the evaluation of test use, which has been an accepted part of test validity for several decades. The examination of effects following from test use is essential in evaluating test validity and not merely the domain of policymakers and politicians. (SLD)

It is argued that consequential validity is a concept worth considering. The solution to defining "validity" is not to narrow the concept, but to allow for the differential prediction provided by tests in different circumstances. Consequences of the uses and interpretations of test scores are central to their evaluation. (SLD)

Describes positive aspects of Denmark's "class teacher" system wherein the same group of students, evenly divided by sex, remain together with the same teacher from grades 1 through 9. Includes description of testing, school and classroom discipline, and group work. Compares Danish schools with American schools. (PKP)