Members (elementary and secondary teachers) of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) were surveyed in preparation for a series of workshops to improve teachers' use and understanding of tests. Results showed generally positive attitudes towards tests, and a specific interest in using tests for diagnostic and prescriptive planning purposes.…

The equipercentile assumption states that students in traditional classrooms who receive no other instructional assistance, will maintain their relative rank order over time. To test this assumption, fall to fall test results on the SRA Achievement Tests were obtained for grades 2-3, and 6-7. Total reading and total mathematics growth scale values…

A study was conducted to determine if there was a significant mean difference in achievement, as measured by the Advanced Test of the Graduate Record Examination or the Field Test of the Undergraduate Assessment Program, between six departments at the main campus and six departments at the extension campus of Florida Southern College. The…

Program requirements for a master's degree in education at both publicly and privately supported institutions are compared. Requirements are revealed as similar in both types of institution with some slight differences in emphasis. Publicly supported institutions appear to have more stringent requirements in the areas of full-time residency…

COLLABORATION OF THE MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION (MLA) AND THE EDUCATIONAL TESTING SERVICE PRODUCED STANDARDIZED TESTS FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS AND TEACHERS IN THE FIVE MOST COMMONLY TAUGHT LANGUAGES--FRENCH, RUSSIAN, ITALIAN, GERMAN, AND SPANISH. STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN THE LISTENING, SPEAKING, READING, AND WRITING SKILLS IS MEASURED BY THE MLA…

Arguments are set forth to encourage continued use of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) as supplementary information rather than as an exclusive criterion for selecting graduate candidates in English. The author predicts that the GRE will be increasingly used and will increasingly come to define and control undergraduate and graduate…

This study was organized for the purpose of determining the validity of any part or parts of a pre-selected battery of standardized tests as predictors of success in secondary school trade programs. The study was limited to the trade areas of machine shop and electrical wiring in 14 state vocational schools in Connecticut. A battery of…

The opinions presented reflect those of the National Education Association Task Force on Testing: that norm referenced tests are often misused, and that problems are also associated with criterion referenced tests. A list of warnings for teachers considering the use of criterion referenced tests includes: (1) common deficiencies in testing need to…

Recent comprehensive analyses such as those by Harnishfeger and Wiley (1975) and Zajonc (1976) indicate the existence of a national and international downward trend in achievement and intelligence test scores. An analysis of the achievement and intelligence test scores in a small, upper middle class, New Jersey elementary school district showed an…

The problem under investigation was to determine the differential effects of three types of treatment on students' test-taking skills. The study also investigated whether test-taking instruction would result in significant mean test score gains on a standardized reading test for white and black, high and low socioeconomic status (SES) third-grade…

This study examined the construct validity of the subtests in the California Entry Level Test (ELT). The ELT is administered to every first grade pupil in California as part of the California Assessment Program and is used as a baseline measure of the prereading skills of beginning first graders. The discriminant validity of the subtests was…

A sizable representative subsample of the standardization group for the Metropolitan Achievement Tests participated in both the Fall and Spring standardization programs. Fall and Spring test records were matched for all such pupils and Fall-Spring "growth expectancies" were derived. Additionally, the sample was split into three subgroups…

During the past few years the problem of bias in testing has become an increasingly important issue. In most research, bias refers to the fair use of tests and has thus been defined in terms of an outside criterion measure of the performance being predicted by the test. Recently however, there has been growing interest in assessing bias when such…

This evaluation report summarizes data collected from pupil questionnaires, teacher questionniares, and parent interviews on the success of a recently implemented elementary school reorganization plan designed to enhance academic achievement. Five evaluation instruments were developed as a collaborative effort of teachers, parents, evaluators, and…

This research review discusses the use of traditional psychometric devices to predict an individual's academic performance, and to determine his admittance into a particular curriculum, particularly in today's open-door, comprehensive, community-junior college. To begin with, most reported uses of the typical achievement or aptitude test appear to…