The difference between "foreign language learning" and "second language learning" is not clear because writers do not agree on the criteria to be used in making the distinction. Moreover, there is a lack of empirical evidence to justify the use of the two terms. The purpose of this study is: (1) to review the various criteria…

A method of developing measurement instruments to assess academic achievement in proficiency-based education is presented. Materials and exercises are sequenced to correspond to major activities which must be completed in developing local assessment systems. The exercises contained in this workshop guide have been field tested and can be followed…

Reflecting concern with the nationwide decline in basic skills mastery, the 1975 statewide basic skills tests of the New Jersey Educational Assessment Program (NJEAP) were used to assess the relative performance of college bound seniors. The results of a random 10% sample of the 55,000 students in college preparatory programs were compared with…

High school students studying French as a second language in Toronto were administered a questionnaire and a variety of achievement tests in French. Results were analyzed to determine the effects of learner characteristics on the development of second language competence. Four factors in learning success were posited: attitude, strategy, aptitude,…

The objectives of this booklet are to provide suggestions, procedures, and rules of thumb to aid the evaluator in using achievement tests in program evaluation. It also discusses some of the theories underlying the procedures for developing and selecting achievement tests and interpreting their results. Each of the six chapters offers advice on…

It appears that those who develop tests are not meeting the needs of classroom teachers. The types of tests which have traditionally been used in the classroom are inconsistent with, and in many cases, irrelevant to, the realities of teaching. When tests are designed to be relatively immune to the variations in experience and response that…

THIS STUDY, CONDUCTED BY THE MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION (MLA) WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE EDUCATIONAL TESTING SERVICE, WAS DESIGNED TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE FRENCH, GERMAN, AND SPANISH SKILL TESTS OF THE MLA COOPERATIVE FOREIGN LANGUAGE TESTS AND THE MLA PROFICIENCY TESTS FOR TEACHERS AND ADVANCED STUDENTS MEASURE ALONG A CONTINUUM OR WHETHER…

In a 950-bed state psychiatric hospital, primarily an admission-and-treatment center, the case method was compared with the lecture-discussion method in teaching a unit on interpersonal relations with psychiatric patients to nurse aides. Two groups of 10 aides each were equated for age, sex, formal education, previous inservice training, and…

Information provided by typical and improved conventional classroom achievement tests was compared with information provided by an adaptive test covering the same subject matter. Both tests were administered to over 700 college students in a general biology course. Using the same scoring method, adaptive testing was found to yield substantially…

In response to eight questions concerning educational achievement, the National Academy of Education's Committee on Testing and Basic Skills cited four changes in school practices which have caused declines in writing skills and Scholastic Aptitude Test scores. Those changes are a proliferation in courses with less rigorous intellectual standards;…

The author takes the position that standardized tests, as presently developed and marketed, do have potentially positive uses. However, these advantages are outweighed by the tests' deleterious effects on children and programs. Standardized tests refer to published, norm referenced, achievement and intelligence tests which contain specific…

This report contains the selected descriptive analysis of the Anchor Test Study. Data originates in the public school segment of the national sample of grades 4, 5, and 6 who were administered the appropriate level of the Metropolitan Achievement Test (MAT): Reading, Form F. A description of the determination of the data base, of the analyses and…

Results of nationwide studies show that standardized achievement test scores of public school children have declined since the mid-1960's, after decades of steady improvement. This seems to be true regardless of grade level, subject tested, or geographic area. Comparing Tacoma's performance with that of the nation and school systems like it as a…

The document lists 781 dissertations for 55 subject areas. Recorded in parentheses are the number of dissertations to be found in each category: achievement prediction (34), administration (5), adults (7), agricultural education (43), apprenticeship (6), area vocational schools (3), basic education (2), business education (18), career development…

As part of an evaluation study of the Berkeley Unified School District, this impact study was undertaken to determine the effectiveness of the district, schools, and programs in terms of basic skill achievement and to determine the relationship of specified educational variables (such as instruction, staffing, and school attributes, and of student…