This document presents a brief summary of findings and actions over the last two years in three areas of Germanna Community College's overall student outcomes assessment program. First, program-placed students were tracked from developmental courses into subsequent collegiate coursework. While developmental student performance was roughly…

This "Glossary" is a compilation of the terminology used to designate examinations, qualifications and titles in 30 European education systems. It covers almost 1000 specific terms of this kind. The aim is to offer readers the definitions of frequently used terms that they might encounter when reading about or dealing with the education…

This article is based on a doctoral dissertation submitted to the University of California in partial fulfillment of requirements for the Ed. D. degree.

Summarizes significant laws and court cases pertaining to discrimination in educational testing and discusses the implications for counselors. Counselors must be knowledgeable about current testing information, regulations of the state and local boards of education, and professional guidelines to avoid discrimination of students because of sex,…

Two criticisms of the System of Multicultural Pluralistic Assessment (SOMPA) are discussed: the alleged abilities of SOMPA to provide an approximate measure of a child's biological capacity to learn and to obtain an approximate measure of a child's basic potential. (See also TM 504 174.) (MH)

Outlines the specifications for objective-based programs in career education, describes the development of one component (an item and objective bank) of an objective-based woodworking program, and discusses the development of objectives and test items and the utilization of criterion-referenced testing data. A sample of the woodworking objectives…

Reasons for the failure of the classical empirical concept of measurement to evaluate educational programs are discussed. Action oriented evaluation is presented as an alternative, and is illustrated by a program to integrate foreign and native language curriculum development and student testing in Germany. (CP)

The Ontario Ministry of Education conducted case studies of the testing programs in nine selected school districts. Results are presented in narrative form on the major study questions: testing program development and organization, the tests administered, uses of test results, and perceived role of the ministry in evaluation programs. (SJL)

The academic transcript is undergoing changes that reflect new learning and assessment procedures. A student development transcript could serve a useful purpose depending on its format. Although there are issues which need resolving, this may be an opportune time to explore the potential for a student development transcript. (Author)

Describes a study done at Oakton Community College which assessed how student characteristics, self-perceptions, academic skills, and course-taking patterns can predict academic achievement. Findings show that students have unrealistic perceptions of their own academic competency and that math skills are a stronger predictor of academic…

The historical roots of current educational assessment practices are traced, exploring assessment in the generic sense rather than as educational measurement. Our culture of assessment developed long ago, predating the history of educational measurement. Current inefficiencies in education and faults in school life may have grown with this…

Describes a continuous school-wide effort begun in 1994 by Nogales High School (Arizona) to improve student writing. Nogales students in 2000 and 2001 scored at or above the state averages on the writing assessment portion of the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS). Advocates involving all teachers from all disciplines in the effort to…

This article describes ways, based on the curriculum, to measure the progress of students with disabilities and then provides practical information on how to set up and use curriculum-based measurement (CBM) procedures to design meaningful and easy-to-communicate assessments for students. Tips for efficiency with CBM procedures are discussed.…

The Joint Committee on Testing Practices (JCTP) is a coordinating body sponsored by professional organizations and test publishers that seeks to advance the quality of testing practices and insure the rights of test takers. The JCTP has issued a code, reprinted here, advocating fairness in test construction, selection, and interpretation. (AF)

Examines positive and negative aspects of American public education and looks at sources of confusion. Positive points include higher graduation rates, higher test scores, math and science accomplishment, and college quality. Negative points include poverty's effect on academic achievement and lack of sensitivity to student diversity. (SM)