The Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) utilize the state mandated testing of students in grades 3, 5 and 8 with the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS) as an accountability index. The district has set objectives to be met by teachers and students. The Department of Instructional Research, Testing, and Evaluation (IRTE) District Program…

In recent years, the Florida State Legislature has mandated that all students who enter colleges and universities must write one of four test batteries for the purpose of placement and that all students are required to pass an exit exam, the College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST), at the end of the sophomore year. This paper examines the…

The legitimate uses of new instruments for the selection and appraisal of principals, factors influencing use of these instruments, and safeguards to minimize misuse are discussed. Performance appraisal systems in education have been used legitimately to ensure that principals meet minimum performance standards, and for promotion. Another valuable…

The admissions process at Fayetteville Technical Institute (FTI) currently relies on high school class rank, prior academic performance, and an admissions interview for placement. Faculty concern about students' writing ability prompted a review of the placement test program, which resulted in a recommendation to include a measure of grammatical…

The use of standardized tests and test data to detect and address differences in cognitive styles is advocated here. To this end, the paper describes the componential theory of intelligence addressed by Sternberg et. al. This theory defines the components of intelligence by function and level of generality, including: (1) metacomponents: higher…

A collection of papers on the use of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines for instruction and testing in less commonly taught languages includes: the 1986 ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines; "Testing Speaking Proficiency: The Oral Interview" (Pardee Lowe, Jr., Judith E. Liskin-Gasparro); a…

This paper addresses 11 commonly asked educational policy questions by referring to National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) findings in five learning areas. The paper is organized for quick reference to the 63 findings, which are, in turn, indexed to the NAEP reports in which they originally appeared. Findings in reading, literature,…

The most difficult problems in bilingual education evaluation are disagreement over what evaluation is and how it is done; the debate over what bilingual education is and how a program is planned and operated locally; and the nature of bilingual education itself, which creates problems in assessment and design methodology. General information is…

The National Teacher Examination (NTE) validation and cut score determination procedures for use in teacher certification in Arkansas are discussed. The NTE area examinations to be validated were selected by the Arkansas Department of Education, which compared the state's certification requirements with the NTE's rationale, content, and scope…

A needs assessment of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is presented. It deals with cost, design and technical issues, and utility. Suggestions include cost reduction via assessment schedule cutbacks and re-use of released NAEP exercises; and a shift from federal to private funding by selling NAEP exercises with interpretative…

To provide information for decision making related to competency testing in reading, the Cleveland School District developed a working paper for staff discussion. This paper presents information about the varied aspects of a competency testing program which will use locally developed test questions and be implemented in response to a Board of…

This study investigated the relationship between a test's psychometric characteristics and school staff satisfaction with its use in programmatic activities. The Inventory of Test Use Satisfaction (IOTUS) was used to evaluate two individually administered oral language production tests used in Hawaii's Students of Limited English Proficiency…

In 1974, the College Board in Puerto Rico initiated a program on educational counseling for high school-bound students. The program was designed to help students define their educational goals and career interests before entering the ninth grade where they would be required to make specific curriculum choices. The program calls for the…

Intended to help state level administrators plan for minimal competency testing programs, the guide discusses conceptual, legal, and budgeting considerations involved in competency programs for different handicapped populations. Problems and remedies are cited from a longitudinal study of the implementation of P.L. 94-142, the Education for All…

The paper discusses the ethical bases for practices in identifying learning disabilities (LD) in children. The state of the art in identification is briefly highlighted, as is the controversy over responsibility and abuse in the process. The author asserts that concerns over current practices do not change the underlying responsibility to provide…