A sample of 1,731 North Carolina high school students who initially failed the state Competency Test registered improvements on subsequent reexaminations. The gains were apparently stable and related more to in-school factors than to individual background characteristics. (Author/PN)

Procedures are presented for state departments of education and the local educational agencies to share the responsibility of showing that a minimum competency test is a fair measure of what is taught. It is recommended that the state lead in technical assistance, provide models, and monitor and evaluate the entire process. (CM)

A former reader-evaluator of essays for "Advanced Placement Examination in English" explains why he cannot with good conscience continue as "part of a process which tells these students they are (to different degrees) 'qualified."' (RL)

Discussed are incorrect uses of matriculation examinations. Suggestions are made for possible changes in the secondary school systems including several types of senior secondary schools for those not seeking employment after four years of schooling. Recommendations are made for ways of matriculation examination scores. (DS)

The average grade equivalent reading comprehension scores of students in Black schools are compared to those of students in White schools under two forms of test administration. Concludes that use of grade level testing with the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills is biased in favor of low scoring subgroups. (Author)

Educational researchers must rely on their informed judgments and assume responsibility in setting minimum competency standards to meet the public demand for quality education. There are both advantages and disadvantages of implementing, as well as not implementing, a minimum competency program. (MH)

The system of competency tests used by the University of Georgia System is examined. Arguments for and against the tests developed by the state board of regents are presented, and the issue of racial discrimination is also addressed. (JMF)

Discusses five major factors that contribute to test bias against Spanish-speaking youngsters: culture, language, noun representation, administration of tests, and interpretation of tests. Also presents guidelines for counselors on assessing what tests to use with Spanish-speaking children, which may be applied to other cultually different groups…

Critics of testing have raised relevant issues about the use of tests. Most concerns relate to abuses made in construction, selection, administration, scoring, and interpretation of standardized tests. The educator could respond by deciding not to use tests. Unfortunately, this cure would be worse than the disease itself. (Author)

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between selected personality and motor variables in emotionally disturbed elementary school children; also to determine an estimate of the reliability of certain measuring instruments when used with this special group of subjects. (JD)

The results of a series of simulation studies designed to investigate the influence of guessing and item pool characteristics on the bias, accuracy, and information properties of the trait estimates derived from Owen's Bayesian sequential testing strategy are reported. (RC)

Presents a case study of the effects of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) on two teachers in the same institution. The study investigates claims that the TOEFL exerts an undesirable influence on language teaching. Findings reveal that influences on what happens in class are more complex than unexamined beliefs about washback allow.…

Utilizing the Test of English Proficiency, developed by Seoul National University (TEPS), examined comparability between the paper-based language test and the computer-based language test based on content and construct validation employing content analyses based on corpus linguistic techniques in addition to such statistical analyses as…

Asserts that educators should reject test-based reform and focus instead on assessment practices that encourage higher level learning. Simply demanding higher scores, even with rewards and sanctions attached, is ineffective. Academic success comes not by teaching to standardized tests but by teaching for deeper, important meaning. (Contains 22…

Sixty subjects age 6 to 30 months were assessed with the Bayley Mental Scale of Infant Development (BMSID). Mean scores were substantially higher than standardized norms would predict, indicating that Bayley norms need to be revised, and that strict interpretation of the BMSID may result in misdiagnosis of some infants with developmental…