The California Assessment Collaborative (CAC) was designed as a three-year effort to identify, validate, and disseminate alternatives to standardized testing throughout the state. This report highlights the results from the first year and comments on the work of 22 diverse pilot projects that serve as examples of site-based development of…

This book supports constructive discussion about assessment and provides concrete directions for change. The 10 chapters outline many of the difficulties associated with current standardized testing. While most educators refer to the new non-standardized test efforts as alternative assessments, this type of assessment is increasingly being called…

Several leaders in education have concluded that the United States should have some form of national achievement testing. Such tests are proposed as part of the "America 2000" education strategy. Believing that the experience of other countries will be useful to educators, policymakers, and concerned citizens, the National Endowment for…

Information about education in Oklahoma beginning with the 1989-90 school year and continuing through December of 1990 is presented in a concise and usable format. This document is an overview of information useful to the public. Sections include: (1) common education recognitions and achievements; (2) 1990 school legislation; (3) educational…

Three supplements to the main report (December 1987) of the Task Group on Assessment and Testing in the United Kingdom are presented. The first report, "Reactions to the Main Report," examines the chief issues raised in public reaction to the main report. The national reaction has been largely positive and supportive. It is reaffirmed…

New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) established a Task Force on Student Assessment in the spring of 1990, which was designed to: review available information on testing principles and practices; make recommendations for reform of testing; and communicate its findings to NYSUT members. Ten recommendations were made, centering on the necessity…

Two specific questions related to the impact of test preparation materials on test validity were addressed: how extensively test preparation materials are being used; and which materials are being used. Four stratified random samples were drawn from four geographical regions. The 564 subjects in each sample included: (1) school superintendents;…

In this research, 103 Hispanic junior high school students were instructed using the Kumon Mathematical Method. Instruction took place 1 hour per day, 5 days a week in a public school setting. Instruction extended over an eight month period. Student subjects were pretested and posttested on the Mathematics batteries of the California Achievement…

Performance data on the Descriptive Tests of Language Skills (DTLS) for entering college students were collected through a pilot study of 4,234 students in 16 colleges. This study was also designed to permit several checks on the validity of the DTLS by examining the relationship of DTLS scores to the following criteria: English course grades,…

Eighty-three students enrolled in five graduate sections of educational research taught by the same instructor were administered a reading attitude scale and an educational research attitude scale. Under-graduate grade point averages (GPAs), entering graduate GPAs, and composite National Teacher Examination (NTE) scores were also obtained for the…

This handbook provides an introduction to the use of vocational assessment instruments and an overview of 69 vocational assessment instruments. Vocational assessment guidelines offer suggestions for planning and implementing a vocational assessment program that emphasizes objective data. Topics covered include defining the goals and population,…

Designed to help university and college faculty, academic administrators, and testing personnel select appropriate tests for college admission, this booklet provides a comparative description of the three biology examinations offered by the College Board. In separate sections, the following topics are covered: faculty improvement in test…

Designed to help university and college faculty, academic administrators, and testing personnel select appropriate tests for college admission, this booklet provides a comparative description of the three chemistry examinations offered by the College Board. In separate sections, the following topics are covered: faculty involvement in test…

Designed to help university and college faculty, academic administrators, and testing personnel select appropriate tests for college admission, this booklet provides a comparative description of the three physics examinations offered by the College Board. In separate sections, the following topics are covered: faculty involvement in test…

A series of reports informs educators and parents about the Alaska Statewide Assessment, a program designed to measure student performance in mathematics and reading. The first report covers the 1981 assessment, proposed planning and changes in the program for 1983, evaluation plans, and test scores. Report 2 describes the progress of score…