Focus group methods for studying opinions and perceptions of school violence are effective for understanding differences among individuals, but cannot report these differences in a concise manner. Traditional quantitative methods for analyzing data from school violence perception surveys allow for the concise reporting of data, but cannot…

This paper presents an online course for assessing and developing lexical competence which grew out of one simple question: How many words do our students have? We start by highlighting the importance of vocabulary teaching in the second language learning process and the beneficial effects of multimedia on developing lexis. The first response to…

The "Preparing Elementary Teachers to Teach Mathematics (PETTM) Project" (1988-1991) was a cooperative university/school effort to improve the teaching of mathematics by elementary teachers with its primary focus on improving the university training of preservice teachers (PSTs) in mathematics. This document, the last of the project's…

This collection explores the theory and applications of educational testing. It is divided into sections on theory and general principles of educational measurement, administration of tests and scoring, and applications of testing. The following chapters present information on test theory and use: (1) "Current Perspectives and Future…

Two studies are reported. The first investigated the feasibility of integrating learning strategy instruction into high school beginning and intermediate level Russian and Spanish classes. The second study assisted teachers and students of Japanese, Russian, and Spanish to implement informal assessment activities in their classrooms. A literature…

This study compared the results of group tests of computational skills and tests of knowledge and skills in mathematics between three groups of first and fifth grade students from the United States, Japan, and Taiwan. The battery of tests were constructed after reviewing the mathematics textbooks used in each location and discussing the major…

In response to a prevailing demand for better quality education in public schools in Pennsylvania, procedures were developed to measure the adequacy and the efficiency of the educational programs in public schools. The objectives currently assessed are in the following areas: communication skills (reading and writing), mathematics, self-esteem,…

Statewide competency testing as a high school graduation requirement represents a threat to those who encourage broad notions of reading and writing, even when a number of testing innovations in reading and writing mean a step forward in education. In Alberta, Canada, the English exam comes in a non-academic and an academic version, and…

Papers include: "ESP Tests: The Problem of Student Background Discipline (J. C. Alderson, A. H. Urquhart); "The Lexical Richness of L2 Written Productions and the Validity of Vocabulary Tests" (P. J. L. Arnaud); "The Construction of a Modular Thematic Task Bound English Language Achievement Test Battery for Kuwait" (M. I. Baghdady); "The Fill-In…

A group of seven conference papers, all dealing with the role of testing and evaluation in the schools, is presented in this document. The papers are as follows: (1) "Framework for Effective Schools" (Eric Cooper), which identifies indicators of efficacy, quality, and equity; (2) "Quality Indicators for Monitoring Equity"…

Adult educators in the state of New Jersey have expressed concern about the adequacy of the 1978 General Educational Development (GED) test. Based on these concerns research was conducted in the use and applicability of the current GED test. The project investigated whether the existing GED test was meeting the needs of the large majority of GED…

This guide contains a series of multiple-choice items and guidelines to assist instructors in composing criterion-referenced tests for use in the food service supervisor component of Oklahoma's Dietetic Support Personnel training program. Test items addressing each of the following occupational duty areas are provided: human relations; nutrient…

Designed to help educators of health and medical personnel to increase their own skills so as to make learning easier for their students, this handbook contains information and activities to help teachers define the professional tasks that will provide the basis for determining educational objectives, plan a curriculum, and construct tests and…

Three approaches to the construction of achievement tests are compared: construct, operational, and empirical. The construct approach is based upon classical test theory and measures an abstract representation of the instructional objectives. The operational approach specifies instructional intent through instructional objectives, facet design,…

The Micro-TOWER System of Vocational Evaluation was developed in response to the need for a revision of the TOWER (Testing, Orientation, and Work Evaluation in Rehabilitation) System. The Micro-TOWER system of work sample tests measures the major aptitudes required for most semi-skilled and unskilled occupations. It may be used as a screening…