A guide to assist prospective test users in the selection of commonly used standardized achievement tests is presented. The tests include seven readiness tests (prekindergarten and kindergarten), 10 English reading and mathematics tests (grades 1 through 12), and two Spanish achievement tests (grades 1 through 12). Most of the readiness tests are…

THIS STUDY, CONDUCTED BY THE WISCONSIN ENGLISH-LANGUAGE-ARTS CURRICULUM PROJECT, DESCRIBES, ANALYZES, AND EVALUATES 16 STANDARDIZED ENGLISH TESTS OF USAGE AND COMPOSITION. THE TESTS CHOSEN WERE THOSE FREQUENTLY USED THROUGHOUT WISCONSIN, EXCLUSIVE OF TESTS DESIGNED FOR COLLEGE-PREPARATORY STUDENTS AND TESTS OF READING ABILITY, SPEECH, AND…

THE PURPOSE OF THE WORKSHOP IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GUIDANCE WAS TWOFOLD--(1) TO SHOW HOW GUIDANCE PROCEDURES AND TECHNIQUES CENTER ABOUT AND INVOLVE THE CHILD AS HE ADAPTS TO A NEW TYPE OF SCHOOL SETTING AND LEARNING PROCESS, AND (2) TO CREATE AN AWARENESS OF THE NEED FOR ALL AREAS OF COUNSELING AT THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LEVEL. OF THE ELEVEN PAPERS…

ALTHOUGH MOST EDUCATORS AGREE THAT EXAMINATIONS PERFORM AN IMPORTANT FUNCTION IN APPRAISING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT, SOME CLAIM THAT MULTIPLE CHOICE TESTS DEGENERATE INTO A GAME OF "BEAT THE MONKEY," I.E., ANSWERING MORE THAN 25 PERCENT OF THE ITEMS CORRECTLY, THE RATING EVEN A MONKEY COULD BE EXPECTED TO RECEIVE. SAMPLE STUDIES REVEAL THAT THE…

A SOCIOMETRIC TEST WAS USED TO COMPARE THE SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE OF MENTAL RETARDATES IN THE GRADE SCHOOL SPECIAL CLASSES AND THE REGULAR CLASSES. MODIFIED SYRACUSE SCALES OF SOCIAL RELATIONS (SSSR) WERE ADMINISTERED IN TEST-RETEST DESIGN TO 400 CHILDREN. AN EXAMINATION WAS MADE OF THE FOUR SPECIAL NEEDS SCALES. CONCLUSIONS DRAWN FROM THE DATA…

This monograph serves as a nontechnical guide to teachers, counselors, school psychologists, administrators, parents, and others who use the 1974 Standards for Educational and Psychological Tests. The Standards are a concise summary of standards and guidelines for the development, evaluation, interpretation, use, and reporting of information on…

The bulk of this guide is devoted to the detailed description of 18 tests of English as a second language (ESL). Most of the tests were produced in Great Britain, the remainder in the United States. Each description provides information on the source, aims, and administration of the test; outlines the content of the test; and, where pertinent,…

The document discusses the decrease of student scores on the citizenship section of the statewide Pennsylvania Educational Quality Assessment (EQA). The document presents an overview of the Pennsylvania State Board of Education goals, describes behaviors that EQA measures, and provides sample questions for fifth, eighth, and eleventh-grade…

In order to test language ability and school readiness in children with Head Start experience, 168 disadvantaged children were randomly selected. Only half of the children had previous Head Start experience. All children received the Metropolitan Readiness Test and were observed by their teacher and examiner. The results showed that in language…

Although normative figures of the performance of late kindergarten and entering first grade students on standardized readiness measures are usually available in the test manuals, no such data is available for pupils about to enter kindergarten. In order to obtain such data, 638 kindergarten (P-K) children in Minnesota were tested on three…

Based on the assumption that English should be central to the school curriculum, this book indicates that the main purpose of the English teacher is not to instruct, but to provide a relaxed, friendly atmosphere in which children can use and improve their language skills. The discussion covers current teaching practices in reading, literature,…

This paper discusses the implications of the "back-to-basics" educational movement, expressing doubts about the advisability of standardized tests and the overall popularity of the movement. It states that learning reading and writing skills depends on the proper educational environment, and suggests that the use of minimum-competency…

An analysis was made of quality ratings of elementary level standardized tests. Applying multidimensional scaling to intercorrelations of quality ratings, it was found that the criterion of content and construct validity was a central element in the evaluation of elementary tests. In addition, several types of validity and reliability were found…

Suggested in the curriculum guide are methods of identifying gifted and talented students and providing suitable instructional programs. Brief sections cover such topics as the following: standardized tests; characteristics of gifted children; objectives of gifted/talented programs; student evaluation; minicourses; materials and learning…

The studies reported in this document reflect the interests and concerns of reading and language arts teachers. Topics of the 10 studies were: a comparison of basal and individualized reading approaches to vocabulary acquisition of fourth graders, a comparison of a formal reading program and an informal general readiness program in kindergarten,…