In the initial article by Edward Roeber, performance assessment is defined as an exercise in which the student demonstrates specific skills and competencies rather than selecting one of several predetermined answers to an exercise. Such as assessment contains four components: (1) a reason for the assessment; (2) a particular peformance to be…

Assessment testing in California's community colleges (CCC) helps to identify entering students' goals and skills level and to ensure that the students are properly advised of appropriate courses and programs. The California Education Code requires that all assessment instruments be approved by the Office of the Chancellor of the California…

This document collects five presentations in the field of vocational counseling and guidance. Its aim is to share research reports with vocational counselors, enhancing the level of this service in Canada. In the first paper, Benjamin Gottlieb discusses social networks and the gestalt of help-seeking, pointing out that persons are attached to…

The presented observations are primarily ethnographic and concern the way intelligence tests are given in schools, how biases in tests might be overcome and how black and white children are differently tested. Data on differences in testing patterns were collected via a 1978 survey of school psychologists in Illinois. The data concern the length…

The primary purpose of the 1983 Statewide Testing Program was to assess the achievement of 4th, 7th, and 10th grade students in South Carolina public schools. The results from the Statewide Testing Program provide educators with information which facilitates the decision-making process at the State, district, and school levels. Besides the…

Designed for parents of kindergarten and elementary school children in Austin, Texas, this brochure explains the structure and function of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills. A question and answer format is used to provide information on the scope and purposes of the tests, grade level differences in testing, meaning and accuracy of the scores, and…

Rudman and colleagues (1980) deplored the paucity of descriptive information relative to teachers' test use patterns. The present study addresses the abundant prescriptive, and lack of descriptive information concerning teacher testing. A mailed survey procedure gathered testing practice information from elementary and secondary South Dakota…

The instructional effectiveness of commercially prepared test preparation materials was studied using Riverside Publishing Company's "Improving Test-Taking Skills" materials. The study further investigated differential effects of test-taking instruction as a result of student characteristics. In the first year of the study (1986-87),…

Some factors that should be considered when administering tests to adults include the following: (1) adults have a difficult time adapting to new things; (2) everyone resists change to some degree; (3) change requires new learning; (4) various things influence a person's ability to learn new things and make changes; (5) childhood events can…

Adults in four North Carolina counties were surveyed to determine public attitudes about the high school minimum competency test (MCT) that determines which students receive a diploma. The interview form consisted of 18 questions with 5-point Likert response scale. Four additional questions requested specific responses. Interviewers were seven…

This paper is the final report of a multi-year project sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) in 1987 through 1990. The main objectives of the research summarized were to: investigate the non-parametric approach to the estimation of the operating characteristics of discrete item responses; revise and strengthen the package computer…

Standardized achievement and aptitude tests may be of very limited value in making placement or instructional decisions about bilingual students. The practice of categorizing standardized test scores by ethnic groups obscures the difficulties of administering and interpreting tests taken by bilinguals. Individuals who are bilingual have two…

This handbook was designed for use in conjunction with an ongoing program in the New York (New York) Public Schools to improve students' test-taking skills. Directed towards third grade teachers and their supervisors, this guide has been developed for implementation as an integral part of the school's ongoing instruction in communication arts and…

This handbook was designed for use in conjunction with an ongoing program in the New York (New York) public schools to improve students' test-taking skills. Directed towards sixth grade teachers and their supervisors, this guide has been developed for implementation as an integral part of the school's ongoing instruction in communication arts and…

Social studies assessment for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) should focus on students' oral and written discourse on social topics. Discourse is language produced by the student with the intention of providing a narrative, argument, explanation, or analysis. The assessment of discourse is important because: emphasis on…