The demands of education reform in many states are constraining the time teachers have to prepare and teach new activities. Therefore, it would behoove environmental educators developing supplemental curricular materials to use their concepts to augment state reform goals. This study suggests that a biodiversity curriculum guide, using the…

Arranged alphabetically by title, the bibliography lists 49 tests, designed for use with students ranging from preschoolers to adults, that are measures of proficiency in English as a second language. Each citation provides title, author, copyright date, age level suitability, publisher, and a brief annotation describing the purpose of the test.…

This document describes the theory and practice of testing; illuminates competing interests in a balanced fashion; and helps those who make decisions with tests or about testing to reach better-informed judgments. Part 1, the report of the Committee, presents a wide-ranging discussion of testing issues. The text has been kept largely free of the…

Many factors that contribute to a negative school climate also cause discipline problems. Our schools are "rigged," like gambling casinos, in that they must produce a certain percentage of losers. The present school system, in performing its screening role for society, demands that some fail. Students today are aware of this rigging and the…

A number of brief papers are presented to provide guidelines for test directors of school systems. This collection is intended for both newly appointed and experienced directors. Contributions were solicited from practicing directors of testing; the authors include Anthony J. Allen, Margaret Backman, Joan Bollenbacker, Gerald Hanna, James Lawson;…

Test evaluation summaries completed by the Center for the Study of Evaluation in 1970 and 1976 were used to determine changes in test quantity and quality among elementary-level standardized instruments. In the earlier studies, the instruments were rated in four general areas: measurement validity, examinee appropriateness, administrative…

This guide explains the concept of out-of-level testing and suggests a formula for estimating the occurrence of floor effects and ceiling effects, within the context of models for evaluating Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I programs. An analogy explains floor and ceiling effects as if test items are stored in different levels in a…

This publication is designed to help vocational evaluators wisely select and use tests within the context of the referral questions and the individualized evaluation plan. The first of two parts contains information on why tests are used in evaluation, problems with tests, and how to select tests. Part 2 contains a review of specific tests that…

This paper reviews the research in the area of achievement tests. The findings indicate: (1) there is little evidence that educational decision makers use the large amount of test data collected; (2) a larger number of tests are being required of students for personal certification; (3) reasons for the lack of application of test results include…

A PICTURE INTEREST INVENTORY FOR THE DEAF WAS CONSTRUCTED AND STANDARDIZED. THE INVENTORY CONSISTED OF 27 TRIADS OF LINE DRAWINGS REPRESENTING VARIOUS OCCUPATIONS. ITEMS WERE GROUPED INTO 10 SCALES--PERSUASIVE, CLERICAL, MECHANICAL, SCIENTIFIC, OUTDOOR, LITERARY, COMPUTATIONAL, ARTISTIC, SOCIAL SERVICE, AND DRAMATIC. SUBJECTS WERE DEAF MALES AGED…

THE SHORT- AND LONG-RANGE EFFECTS OF A LANGUAGE STIMULATION PROGRAM ON THE LINGUISTIC ABILITY AND INTELLIGENCE OF EDUCATIONALLY DISADVANTAGED FIRST-GRADE NEGRO CHILDREN WERE STUDIED. SUBJECTS WERE RANDOMLY PLACED IN EXPERIMENTS (E) AND CONTROL (C) GROUPS OF 32 PUPILS MATCHED ON STANDARDIZED PRETEST BATTERIES WHICH DETERMINED THEIR LANGUAGE AND…

FUNCTIONS OF PROFESSIONALLY PREPARED, OBJECTIVE, STANDARDIZED TESTS FOR TEACHERS AND PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS, FOR NATIONWIDE USE, ARE DESCRIBED. THESE ARE (1) ADVANCING THE PRESERVICE PREPARATION OF TEACHERS BY DEMONSTRATING SIGNIFICANT TEST-SCORE DIFFERENCES AMONG STUDENTS FROM VARIOUS INSTITUTIONS, (2) IMPROVING CERTIFICATION OR LICENSING POLICIES…

A national survey was conducted to gather data on selected policies of publicly supported and private master's degree granting institutions enrolling fewer than 10,000 students. A review of recent literature is presented, focusing on the policy areas surveyed: full-time residency requirements; time limits for the completion of degree requirements;…

Behaviors important to success of students enrolled in programs for the educable mentally retarded were investigated with 30 Ss. Hypotheses stated that those behaviors described by the Fourteen Persistent Life Problems (PLPs) and deemed important to academic success of the EMR would correlate significantly with standardized measures of reading…