An essential element in establishing educational equity is the use of educational testing and standardized norm-referenced tests, in particular, to identify and analyze problems in school effectiveness. The performance of children from low-income families is the best indicator of school response to minimum skills needs. (CM)

Three item selection methods for criterion-referenced tests are examined: the classical theory of item difficulty and item-test correlation; the latent trait theory of item characteristic curves; and a decision-theoretic approach for optimal item selection. Item contribution to the standardized expected utility of mastery testing is discussed. (CM)

Mastery learning strategies and criterion referenced measurement tools perform a selective function in the classroom. The selective approach within the philosophical role of schools is discussed in terms of limited educational employment, competition, talent distribution, and the suggested attributes of good testing. (CM)

A comparison of double as opposed to single multiple-choice questions yielded significant differences in regard to item difficulty, item discrimination, and internal reliability, but not concurrent validity. (Author/PN)

Many factors can influence teachers' attitudes toward tests and some of those factors have nothing to do with the test's contents or subject matter. When the purposes and uses of tests results are not explained, teacher attitudes will be affected negatively. Testing on subject matter should be used in teacher certification and evaluation.…

Three students' concerns about testing range from the conditions under which tests are taken to what tests actually measure, to the personal sacrifices high school students must make to take nationally administered examinations. (Author/CM)

Guidance counselors are responsible for helping teachers, students, and parents understand as much as possible about the school's testing program and each student's performance. The purposes and uses of tests are important in the context of the student's future. (Author/CM)

Evidence of biases in the correct answers in multiple-choice test item files were found to include "all of the above" bias in which that answer was correct more than 25 percent of the time, and a bias that the longest answer was correct too frequently. Seven bias types were studied. (Author/CM)

Delineates three factors influencing the effectiveness of student placement programs: assessment data utilized, the academic system in which the student is placed, and the institution's commitment to evaluating the placement process. Reviews the procedures, statistical results, and findings of a Delhi College study of the English department…

Results of the pilot study indicated that the matching cloze procedure--which does not require language production skills--may provide the classroom teacher of educable mentally retarded children with an evaluation procedure which is both psychometrically and ontologically valid, as well as being easy to construct. (Author/DLS)

Six articles discuss testing and measurement in Soviet schools. Subjects include problems and reliability of psychological testing, methods for improvement, testing of teaching results, and teaching and evaluation of pupils' knowledge. (KC)

As more states adopt minimum competency testing (MCT) programs, MCT is becoming the subject of much debate among educators and in the courts. MCT has been attacked by those who claim it discriminates against Blacks and non-English-speaking minorities. Also raised in the MCT debate is the question of educational malpractice. (RLV)

Attempts to select empirically the optimal cutting score or criterion level for a test based on response data from validation samples of instructed and uninstructed students. This score maximizes the probability of correct mastery-nonmastery decisions (or minimizes the probability of incorrect decisions). (Author/RK)

One hundred and thirty-eight post-graduate students enrolled in a Diploma in Education course were tested for their ability to conserve weight and volume. A methodological criticism of the earlier work of Elkind (1962) and Towler & Wheatley (1971) is offered which casts doubt on the extremely high proportion of non-conservers of volume reported in…

In the debate about the effect of education and training on productivity the central problem has always been to find a satisfactory measure of productivity. Examines a test that is being used and which might be suitable for such purposes. (Author/RK)