An analysis is presented by the Puerto Rico office of the College Board of the English as a Second Language Achievement Test (ESLAT), which was undertaken to measure the specifications and item content of the examination against the students' performance. The report, based on 400 randomly selected structure items used in one or more versions of…

A study examined the nature of the questions contained in two major standardized reading comprehension tests in terms of their centrality to the text. It was hypothesized that the use of a discrimination index for item selection would tend to favor relatively trivial questions. Half the reading selections from the Stanford Diagnostic Reading Test…

The multilevel characteristics of test item data are considered as a method for examining the characteristics of standardized norm-referenced tests. A theoretical rationale for examining multilevel characteristics is presented. It can be used as an aid to understand why program and instructional effects on measures constructed from…

The extent of congruence of the underlying factor structures of the learning environment and cognitive variables for mathematics and English courses in grade 10 are presented. The Learning Environment Inventory (LEI), the Otis-Lennon Mental Ability Test, and the Sequential Tests of Educational Progress were administered to 317 students. The…

This paper reports on the promises and pitfalls of the recently legislated basic skills testing requirement for teaching or service credential applicants in California. The California Basic Education Skills Test (CBEST), developed by Educational Testing Service from specifications set by Advisory Board to the State Department of Education, tests…

This paper reports the results of a survey conducted in the spring of l981 that was designed to collect and summarize guidelines on appropriate test use from the various organizations, agencies, and associations involved in standardized educational testing. The primary objective of the study was to learn how these various groups define the issues…

An approach to improve the test-taking abilities of minority students, and especially college students, are discussed. The problem of lower performance of minorities on norm-referenced, standardized test is also considered. One approach to help improve students' scores on standardized tests is test-taking instruction and practice on simulated…

A theoretical proposal is offered concerning individual differences in cognitive processes. The focus is on mental retardation and the comparative problem-solving performance of 'normal' and 'retarded' children. (Author/CS)

Author presented some of the constructive things that school psychologists can do to assess more adequately disadvantaged minority group children. (Author/RK)

Provides a cursory comparison of four popular social studies achievement tests, discusses the relationship between the subject matter and the test, and provides examples of new methods of testing that give the teacher and the class tools for summarizing and interpreting what they are learning as they work together. (Author/IRT)

Standardized reading achievement tests are at best a reflection of the prevailing approaches and attitudes toward reading and the teaching of reading. Reading, however, is a very personal skill; people read best what they want to read. (Author)

Fifty standardized science tests are alphabetically listed under three major sections: (1) 23 elementary school science tests; (2) seven middle/junior high school science tests; and (3) secondary school science tests. The following information is provided for each test: test author(s), publisher, number of test forms, number of items on test,…

A study of elementary school teachers in California schools was conducted to determine the amount of testing they administered. Yearly state assessment tests, standardized norm-referenced test batteries, criterion-referenced tests, minimum competency tests, and teacher-made, curriculum-embedded tests were used. Testing in most areas was more…