Controlled Drawing Observation (CDO) was developed by Tove Krogh and it has been used in Denmark, Finland and Estonia for assessing a child's readiness for school. CDO is a group test, it gives information about a child's functioning in an educational setting and it serves as a starting point for later individual assessment. The goal of the study…

The purpose of this study was to examine teachers' accommodation recommendations for students during large-scale tests using two different methods to assist teachers with the decision-making process. Then we present descriptive data on teacher recommended accommodations for two case students who had presenting data to warrant changes in the manner…

Speaking tasks involving peer-to-peer candidate interaction are increasingly being incorporated into language proficiency assessments, in both large-scale international testing contexts, and in smaller-scale, for example course-related, ones. This growth in the popularity and use of paired and group orals has stimulated research, particularly into…

The intent of large-scale assessment systems is to promote student achievement toward specific standards by holding schools accountable for the performance of all students. However, it is difficult to know whether large-scale assessment systems are having this intended effect as they are currently implemented. In this article, the authors examine…

G. Burket's criticisms regarding calculation and interpretation of group scores on norm-referenced tests are discussed. Burket and Baglin seem to agree on the existence of a problem in the calculation and interpretation of group scores on norm-referenced tests but disagree on the issue of that problem's causes and solutions. (TJH)

Repeating validation procedures used for the Children's Group Embedded Figures Test Level II (ages 9-11), this Level I test of cognitive style was administered to a second grade sample. It proved reliable and significantly related to the individual Children's Embedded Figures Test and the Portable Rod-and-Frame Test. (Author/SJL)

The developing discourse which moves assessment away from a measurement model towards one of learner empowerment and the development of assessment for lifelong learning sets the context for this paper. Within this framework, we explore how the demands made on practitioners may influence current reported assessment practices. The reasons given by…

Criticizes attempts by states to institute statewide testing programs as a means of improving school accountability. Discusses various examples of how this is being carried out. Presents four recommendations for testing programs. (HB)

This paper is an examination of statewide district writing achievement gain data from the Nebraska Statewide Writing Assessment system and implications for statewide assessment writing models. The writing assessment program is used to gain compliance with the United States No Child Left Behind Law (NCLB), a federal effort to influence school…

Research on implicit beliefs or theories about intelligence has shown that those with entity theories tend to be oriented toward performance goals--that is, toward documenting their intelligence, while those with incremental theories tend to be oriented toward learning goals--that is, toward developing their intelligence. This paper discusses…