Individual standardized test scores in major school subjects can be combined to evaluate school programs and systems. Recently, Sweden experimented with such a practice. Test scores in different subjects (Swedish, English, mathematics) were gathered, units of different size (schools, municipalities, regions) were compared, and inter-school…

Intended for Oklahoma school administrators, teachers, and parents, the guidelines examine factors in educating mildly and moderately mentally retarded students. General information is first presented on such topics as definitions, facilities, scheduling, mainstreaming, teacher role, teaching strategies, learning centers, discipline, grading and…

Arguing that educational testing has not grown with the theory and knowledge base of the reading field, this paper cites the current configuration of testing as a major contributor to the instructional stagnation, methodological back-to-basics movement, and general lack of excitement and true innovation found in classrooms and schools today. The…

Standardized achievement tests are often misused as indicators of a school's quality or effectiveness relative to other schools. This is an incorrect use because it ignores variation among schools in student abilities, family support of education, student mobility, and other factors. People also misuse tests because they impute to them more…

This booklet is designed to help parents gain a better understanding of testing and its role in the education of their children. Answers to questions concerning the different types of tests given in schools, differences among these tests, how test results are used, what test scores mean and how the scores affect students are provided. Several…

This handbook, in two parts, constitutes a manual prepared by the American Federation of Teachers, for improving teachers' use of standardized tests. Part I outlines basic concepts and issues surrounding standardized testing for teachers, parents and school administrators. The terms norm-referenced tests, criterion referenced tests, minimum…

Sketches some of the dilemmas in language assessment and presents exemplary practical approaches to assessment in the language arts areas of listening, oral language, reading, and writing. (SD)

Following a critique of so-called educational testing, this article examines three "educationally noteworthy school testing programs"--those of Portland, Oregon; Orange County, Florida; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and one noteworthy school with no standardized testing: the Prospect School in Bennington, Vermont. Derives some broad…

The American College Testing (ACT) Assessment consists of four curriculum-based achievement tests designed to assess critical reasoning and higher-order thinking skills in English, mathematics, reading, and science. These tests reflect students' skills and achievement levels as products of their high school experience and serve as measures of…

Since its introduction in 1983, Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences has attracted widespread interest among educators. The chapters in this book describe alternative assessments that capture the range of intelligences, allow the intelligences to be given more equal weight, use intelligence-fair formats, and focus on student…

A state superintendent of education discusses standards from the point of view of a policymaker, acknowledging both educational and political elements. The objective for the policymaker is to take the work of researchers and educational theorists and make it something that practitioners and ultimately the public can understand. The first thing is…

A sample of 107 eighth graders from a large urban middle school in the Midwest was administered the Millon Adolescent Personality Inventory (MAPI) to determine its utility in predicting grades earned, attendance, and social competence. The results of hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that the MAPI coping patterns significantly…

The Preschool IDEA Oral Language Proficiency Test: Spanish (Pre-IPT:Spanish) developed by W. Williams and E. Dalton (1989) purports to determine the level of oral language proficiency for preschool children, aged 3 to 5 years. The instrument is designed to identify the dominant language of bilingual or primarily Spanish-speaking children, and the…

The COIN Basic Skills and Career Interest Survey is a two-part measure using the combined scores of the Wonderlich Basic Skills Test (E. Long, V. Artese, and W. Clonts, 1994) (WBST) and the COIN Career Interest Survey (R. Durgin, J. Ryan, and R. Ryan, 1995; COIN Educational Products, Inc.) (CIS). The third part of this package involves the…

This is an evaluation of the first 2 years of a 5-year comprehensive Bilingual Education grant funded by Title VII Part A of the Improving America's Schools Act of 1994 in the Austin Independent School District (AISD) (Texas). The grant awarded to the AISD funds a program of Developmental Bilingual Education at two elementary schools where more…