As part of the Michigan Educational Assessment Program, a sample of approximately 2,000 fourth and seventh grade students were tested in music and metric measurement. Teachers and curriculum specialists helped to develop individualized tests which could measure the attainment of objectives that could not be tested with group-administered items,…

The minimum competency movement's rationale can be reduced to four problem-laden propositions: the state through its schools owes every child an education; a high school graduate should be at least minimally competent; schools should be held accountable for seeing to it that every child meets this standard; and to assure this, every child must be…

The speeches presented at the second national conference on testing deal with models for program evaluation, reporting of test results, minimum competency programs, and the role of state and federal government in educational testing. Various approaches to program evaluation, and its relationship to testing are described by Michael Scriven, Lee J.…

In discussing the third national assessment of reading and literature, four major points can be made. First, norm-referenced tests and criterion-referenced tests ignore serious ethical and measurement problems, namely, we don't know enough about individual differences to do such testing and the outcome, social class tracking, is ethically…

A series of reports describes the activities of the Office of Research and Evaluation and compiles data descriptive of the Austin (Texas) Independent School District. This report describes the system-wide evaluation data for the school year 1976-77, which demonstrate improved performance in the basic skills areas of reading and mathematics,…

This document is designed to help the reader understand the district profiles of the California statewide testing program. These data assist the reader to compare a districts' performance with that of previous years and of other districts, especially those with similar characteristics. A brief description of the development and content of the…

Test results are summarized for the second year of the New Jersey College Basic Skills Placement Test administered to 47,725 entering freshmen in the fall of 1979. Performance is categorized into one of three groups: appears proficient in basic skills tested; demonstrates proficiency in some (but not all) of the areas tested; and demonstrates a…

Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree are listed and explained. The intent is to present the prospective Ph.D. student with a reasonably clear picture of the tasks to be completed, the level of performance to be achieved, and the expected schedule for completion of the degree. University faculty and academic administrative officers may…

The technical and administrative processes and activities involved in scoring student responses to essay writing questions in the Massachusetts State Board of Education's basic skills program are outlined and discussed. After a general introduction to holistic scoring, separate sections describe the roles and activities of the administrators, the…

Findings are presented of an empirical study involving public, private, and parochial school systems' use of standardized test information by central office administrators. Examples of actual use are given, and descriptions of central office perspectives on standardized testing are detailed. Three categories were found to account for most of the…

This study reports on attempts to determine whether the remedial instruction provided to high school students who failed one or both sections of the North Carolina Competency Test have resulted in improved performance on subsequent tests. Separate data were gathered for three semesters: Fall 1978, Spring 1979, and Fall 1979. Information was…

The Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) staff developed strategies to train teachers and principals to use state assessment results for improving academic achievement in their schools. Two local uses of the state assessment results are (1) using the results of grades 4, 7, and 10 with the students tested, and (2) using the results to…

A "teacher referenced" test system is discussed in terms of its development, evaluation of implementation, and final validation. This diagnostic test system for problems in primary mathematics in Holland provides reliable, applicable information about both the learning process for the classroom teacher, and diagnostic instruments and…

This report represents the first attempt by the Council of the Great City Schools to assess the states of minimal competency testing in its twenty-eight member cities. This report does not focus on the results of the tests, but on the general characteristics of each competency testing program. Few cities use the same tests or collaborate in…

An advisory committee representing counselors, curriculum specialists, students, teachers, and community members should participate in selecting standardized tests for school districts. These steps should be followed: (1) identify test purpose in relation to needs and objectives--diagnosis, placement, career guidance, program evaluation; (2)…