One component of the Maryland School Performance Assessment; Program (MSPAP) is the state's performance-based assessments, criterion-referenced tests that require students to apply what they know and can do to solve problems and display other higher-order thinking skills. This document helps parents, teachers, students, and other citizens…

This score interpretation guide is designed to help administrators and classroom teachers understand the scores and scales of the 1994 and Beyond Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP). MSPAP scale scores indicate a school's level of performance in the content areas of reading, writing, language usage, mathematics, science, and…

This report describes the adult basic education profession in Australia across state boundaries and across a wide range of contexts. Chapter 1 discusses competencies and professions and why competency-based teacher education has been unsuccessful. Chapter 2 discusses the context of Adult Basic Education Competencies. Chapter 3 describes the…

This paper discusses the difficulties deaf and hard-of-hearing children (d/hh) have in test taking and the test-taking strategies they use, such as visual matching of words in the text to words in the question. These specific strategies are different from those used by children without disabilities. Also examined are the characteristics and…

Performance based assessment refers to tasks that require students to construct responses or take actions to demonstrate specific knowledge or skills. Performance assessment tasks appear in a variety of formats, but they focus on higher order skills and are nonroutine, and sometimes loosely structured, in nature. A number of concerns have been…

A simple way of comparing the more widely used measures of the outcomes of mental health treatment is offered through this list of measures that includes both practical information and information about psychometric considerations. Each review contains information about the format, practicality (administration time and scoring), reliability,…

A study determined the viability and effectiveness of the Computerized Competent Speaker Evaluation System. A total of 659 comments made by undergraduate students about the paper version of the Competent Speaker Speech Evaluation Form were subjected to two Q sorts. The 635 comments that emerged were incorporated into the evaluation system during…

This study examines the relationship between test-wiseness, memory, and grade-point average in college students. Test wiseness is defined as a subject's capacity to utilize the characteristics and format of a test to receive a higher score, independent of the examinee's knowledge of the subject matter. Researchers hypothesized that test-wiseness…

The Arizona Student Assessment Program (ASAP) epitomizes the principle on which measurement-driven reform is based, "You get what you assess." This policy study examines the ideologies and intentions of groups instrumental in the creation and implementation of a performance-based assessment reform. The study was conducted by interviewing…

This report explores the application of cost analysis to testing and assessment in elementary and secondary schools. A case for economic analysis of testing is first outlined. The case rests on the importance on test information, the magnitude of resources devoted to testing, and the relevance of an economics of information model to testing…

The purpose of this paper is to present a brief overview of the nature of pedagogical content knowledge and to offer a list of working hypotheses concerning it for incorporation into teacher education programs. What teachers know about teaching, such as preinstructional strategies, the use of concrete examples and manipulatives, formative testing,…

The Swassing-Barbe Modality Index (SBMI) uses visual, auditory, and tactile inputs, but only reconstructed output, to measure children's modality strengths. In this experiment, the SBMI's three input modalities were crossed with two output modalities (spoken and drawn) in addition to the reconstructed standard to result in nine treatment…

Because the assessment needs of young children and infants with handicaps are often quite different from those of the school-age populations with which child study teams have the most experience, this manual addresses issues relevant to the pre-kindergarten population. Chapter 1 provides an overview of general issues related to preschool…

A critical analysis is presented of the literature as it relates to survey research, including personal interviews, telephone interviews, and mail questionnaires. Additional research concerns are explored, and a code of ethics for survey researchers is presented. Focus groups, interviews, long interviews, telephone interviews, and mail surveys are…

Since 1985, the students in grades 2-8 in three selected elementary schools in Palau have been tested on basic math skills. This report describes the data collected in May 1993 and indicates the relative strengths and weaknesses of students at each grade level in each school. Major outcomes include: (1) the students at Harris School scored…