The extent to which teachers at an elementary and secondary school in a rural town in the mid-south administered the Missouri Mastery and Achievement Tests (MMAT) in accordance with standardized procedures was studied. In addition, the teachers' general test-taking considerations, standardized test administration procedures, and test-wiseness were…

Year after year, students, teachers, administrators, politicians, and parents are faced with the dilemma of reading assessment. Sheila Valencia (1990) feels that reading assessment has become a hot topic because the outcome tends to differ from school to school. Evaluations should be authentic and trustworthy. Roger Farr (1992) has noted that the…

The use of constructed response items in large scale standardized testing has been hampered by the costs and difficulties associated with obtaining reliable scores. The advent of expert systems may signal the eventual removal of this impediment. This study investigated the accuracy with which expert systems could score a new, non-multiple choice…

The use of scientific calculators on standardized mathematics tests is becoming more common, and how their use affects the standardized testing process continues to be a topic of study. This study extends previous work by examining test item characteristics and equity issues, asking whether items designed to be "calculator neutral"…

Reports from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) provide a starting point from which to examine U.S. student achievement in mathematics and science in an international context. This publication illustrates how the different types of information found in the international reports can provide a springboard for in-depth…

This report describes one segment of the Federal Language Testing Board's Unified Language Testing Plan (ULTP), the validation of speaking proficiency tests in Spanish and English. The ULTP is a project to increase standardization of foreign language proficiency measurement and promote sharing of resources among testing programs in the federal…

In 1990 the Kentucky legislature passed the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA). The law mandates the use of performance-based assessments, including portfolios in mathematics and writing. This paper presents findings of a case study of a fourth-grade classroom teacher's experiences in implementing instructional changes to help students produce…

In a study prompted by the need to standardize the reporting of educational progress of adult language minority students in Illinois, a commonly used adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) reading test was compared with two frequently used Adult Basic Education (ABE) reading tests. The testing instruments used were the ELSA (English Language…

This paper describes a father's reflections on his daughter Charlie's failure to pass a state-mandated standardized test; reactions of both to the failure; reactions of both to emerging events; Charlie's next challenge and her looking to the future, and final thoughts and conclusions. The paper is a collaborative effort between father and daughter…

The applicability of a standardized performance measurement procedure is critically investigated, in order to assess reading growth for students with severe reading difficulties in a longitudinal design. To establish an appropriate growth model, several approaches are reviewed. Among them, a simplex model is chosen and tested with various…

This paper discusses the conflict created by two trends in education--the push for a multicultural curriculum and for accountability. Proponents of multicultural education argue that national standardized tests fail to tap diverse students' knowledge and problem-solving abilities. Approaches for reframing the paradox--diverse assessment,…

The effect of the standardized test scores of transient students on the mean of the 9th, 10th, and 11th grade standardized test scores of a school was studied. The groups used in the study were grades 9, 10, and 11 at a new high school in Clarksburg (West Virginia). The study was conducted in the spring of 1998. Groups consisted of 204 9th…

Data from the 1980 and 1982 High School and Beyond Surveys are used to compare the achievement of immigrant and native students in high school. The study examines effects of generation and duration of residence in the United States on improvement in students' performance on standardized tests over a 2-year period beginning with the year the…

To say that assessments must be authentic, dynamic, fluid, and formative is not to say that normative, standardized evaluations have no place in the overall assessment scheme. What is needed is a combination and balance of assessments. The tri-assessment model promotes using traditional assessments along with portfolio and performance assessments.…

This study sought to separate the effect of concentrated poverty on students' academic achievement and to develop a simple method for demonstrating that effect. The study was conducted in a midwestern urban school district with characteristics particularly suitable for answering these questions. It used two years worth of data on elementary school…