The Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) is a state-mandated, criterion-referenced or mastery test that has been administered since the 1990-91 school year. The TAAS measures student mastery of the statewide curriculum in reading and mathematics at grades 3 through 8 and at the exit level, and in writing at grades 4 and 8 and at the exit…

The education system of the United States is rated on the performance of students on large-scale standardized tests. In addition, a major portion of a student's grade for a course is based on the level of performance on classroom tests. Since this is the case, the education system must take testing and the results of testing very seriously. The…

A detailed description is provided of the methodology that was used to develop the concordance tables reported in a recent study by G. L. Marco and A. A. Abdel-fattah (1991) on the relationships between scores on the enhanced American College Testing (ACT) Program Assessment and the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Fourteen large universities…

Arguments for replacing standardized multiple choice tests with performance assessment that encourages teachers to devote more attention to higher order skills, and thus results in increased student achievement, are based on three assumptions: (1) the teaching profession, key decision makers, and parents will accept performance assessment measures…

Most of the 150 tests cited in this bibliography are geared to the elementary secondary level. There are some for adults and college students. The instruments are basically achievement tests that assess competence in fundamental skills basic to learning or everyday functioning such as reading, mathematics, and language skills. Many of the tests…

A general framework is provided for examining the validity of performance standards for high-stakes achievement tests. The emphasis is on conceptual issues and broadly defined methodological questions, the types of validity evidence that can be collected, and the advantages and limitations of different types of evidence. Validation consists of a…

The 161 tests cited in this bibliography are for all age and grade levels. Many of the instruments are test batteries in which writing skills are measured in a subtest. The tests may contain objective, multiple-choice or essay-type questions. The tests included here are in English and for native-speakers. This document is one in a series of…

This document provides the framework to guide the development of assessment instruments for the 1994 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in geography. This framework is designed to assess the outcomes of students' education in geography in grades 4, 8, and 12 as part of the NAEP. The document draws from the five themes of geography,…

This information booklet is intended to serve as a companion document to the course syllabus for technology education in New York. It will assist teachers in developing lesson plans that address performance objectives, supporting competencies, and subsequent testing. It first provides important information to teachers, guidance counselors, and…

This document is a report to the Delaware State Legislature concerning the results of the Delaware Educational Assessment Program in 1989-90. The Stanford Achievement Test was administered statewide in grades 1 through 8 and grade 11. This administration allowed both national and state comparisons. The average Delaware student performed above the…

The notion that reasoning develops in distinct phases of thinking as individuals progress from simplistic learning of facts to predicting integrated relationships was explored as subjects considered housing issues. Suggestions for developing and instructing housing programs are presented. Subjects included 13 students and faculty members at three…

The relationship between self-regulation, using measures from the affective and cognitive domains, and academic performance was investigated for 62 middle-school (grade 6) students. Key aspects of self-regulated learning studied were planning and self-assessment. A range of affective variables, including self-concept and locus of control, was also…

The assessment programs of Alberta Education (Canada) are described, and the principles that guide these programs are reviewed. Alberta is committed to authentic assessment in its three major assessment programs: (1) the Diploma Examinations Program for certification in specific courses at the end of high school; (2) the Achievement Testing…

Biosocial influences on sex differences, found for school achievement test results in grades 3 and 6, have been studied by means of opposite-sex twin pairs and singleton controls, attending the same classes as the twins. As expected the opposite-sex twin pairs tend to be more similar in achievement test results in Swedish and mathematics than…

A number of topics of interest to secondary school foreign language teachers are discussed in this issue. The following articles are included: (1) "Teaching and Learning a Foreign Language via Tele(Video)phone: A Futuristic Mini-Computer Design," by G. Harewood; (2) "Meeting Students' Communication Needs," by B. Marckel and "Functional/Notional…