Despite considerable recent public and judicial attention to the issue of drug testing, little empirical research has focused on the relationship between drug testing in schools and the actual use of illicit drugs by students. To explore this issue, we use school-level survey data about drug testing from the Youth, Education, and Society study and…

This article is based on a doctoral dissertation submitted to the University of California in partial fulfillment of requirements for the Ed. D. degree.

South Carolina's Educator Improvement Act, a recently enacted teacher minimum competency testing measure, is described. The act mandates testing of basic skills and subject matter knowledge of college students planning to teach, and observational assessment of the performance of teachers and student teachers. Testing provisions are discussed. (PP)

Two aspects of the teacher testing issue are discussed: (1) reasons for assuming that teachers should be tested; and (2) domains in which testing might occur. The effects of testing on teacher quality and public opinion are discussed. Ways that teacher educators can use their influence to improve teacher quality are suggested. (PP)

Investigates library study skills of 467 randomly selected students in grades 5, 8, and 11 using scores from Gullette-Hatfield Test of Library Study Skills to represent gender, grade level, socio-economic status of family. Review of literature, hypotheses, methodology (subjects, instruments, procedures, design), and results are noted. Eight…

Summarizes significant laws and court cases pertaining to discrimination in educational testing and discusses the implications for counselors. Counselors must be knowledgeable about current testing information, regulations of the state and local boards of education, and professional guidelines to avoid discrimination of students because of sex,…

Discusses changes in testing as a result of the availability of extensive inexpensive computing and some recent developments in statistical test theory. Describes the role of the Computerized Adaptive Test (CAT) and modern Item Response Theory (IRT) in ability testing tailored to each student's knowledge and ability. (JAC)

Provides an overview of state-mandated minimum competency testing programs. Describes the potential impact of competency testing on the school counselor. Proposes actions counselors might take to protect student well-being and counselor functions from misdirected regulation. (RC)

Reviews a federal court ruling in Florida stating that minimum competency tests must be fair--that is, they must cover material that has actually been taught. Unfair tests used to determine eligibility for graduation violate the equal protection and due process clauses of the Constitution. (Author/WD)

Four resegregation processes (norm-referenced testing, classroom grouping, classroom competition, busing rates) reinforce in student status relationships the stratifying effects of an Anglo-dominated school environment. These processes were studied using data gathered from case studies of 10 desegregated elementary schools in California in…

Two criticisms of the System of Multicultural Pluralistic Assessment (SOMPA) are discussed: the alleged abilities of SOMPA to provide an approximate measure of a child's biological capacity to learn and to obtain an approximate measure of a child's basic potential. (See also TM 504 174.) (MH)

Norm referenced data were utilized for determining the mastery cutoff score on a criterion referenced test. Once a cutoff score on the norm referenced measure is selected, the cutoff score on the criterion referenced measure becomes that score which maximizes proportion of consistent classifications and proportion of improvement beyond change. (CP)

Reexamined Piagetian stages of males (N=182) and females (N=176), ages nine to eighteen, using cluster analysis, and sought information concerning occurrence of stages and influence of different tasks and gender on cluster patterns. Findings, among others, indicate that deviation from Piagetian stages was influenced by gender and type of task.…

Outlines the specifications for objective-based programs in career education, describes the development of one component (an item and objective bank) of an objective-based woodworking program, and discusses the development of objectives and test items and the utilization of criterion-referenced testing data. A sample of the woodworking objectives…

The Ontario Ministry of Education conducted case studies of the testing programs in nine selected school districts. Results are presented in narrative form on the major study questions: testing program development and organization, the tests administered, uses of test results, and perceived role of the ministry in evaluation programs. (SJL)