Arguments in support of standardized testing are critically analyzed. Usual criticisms of such tests are summarized as relatively unimportant. However, two basic criticisms are offered: the competitive nature of scoring standardized tests and their lack of content validity. The test-makers contention that tests are neutral and simply need to be…

To comply with official state regulations, public school districts in Massachusetts must establish minimum standards for reading, mathematics and writing by September 1980, and for listening and speaking by September 1981. The standards must apply to three grade levels: early elementary, late elementary, and secondary. Parents, teachers,…

The Skills Achievement Monitoring (SAM) program, developed by teachers and administrators in the public schools of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, is described. The program, used in writing and mathematics, is based on three assumptions: (1) that classroom teachers are the primary untapped resource in schools, (2) that tests of any kind must be used as…

Approximately 20,000 eighth-and eleventh-grade students in Texas were tested on nine career education objectives; (1) career planning and decision making; (2) occupational information; (3) job acquisition and retention; (4) work attitudes; (5) human relations skills; (6) self evaluation; (7) personal responsibilities; (8) economic factors; and (9)…

THE INCREASED EMPHASIS ON THE AUDIOLINGUAL SKILLS REQUIRES NEW APPROACHES IN TESTING. THESE SKILLS CAN BE SEPARATED INTO SEVERAL AREAS FOR WHICH GROUP AND INDIVIDUAL OBJECTIVE TESTS CAN BE CONSTRUCTED. EXAMPLES OF GROUP TESTS ARE AURAL WORD-RECOGNITION TESTS AND TESTS OF LISTENING COMPREHENSION. TESTS WHICH MUST BE ADMINISTERED INDIVIDUALLY ARE…

Interest in applied performance testing and concern about the quality of the high school diploma are finding a common ground: graduation requirements. A competency is a complex capability applicable in real life situations, and can be used as program objectives in a competency-based, criterion-referenced program. In such a program, applied…

This report is the Proceedings of the third conference of its type. Included are 23 of the 25 papers presented at the conference, discussion of these papers by invited discussants, and symposium papers by a group of leaders in adaptive testing and latent trait test theory research and applications. The papers are organized into the following…

Twelve common errors which can invalidate an otherwise sound evaluation are identified, and ways to avoid them are presented. The hazards are: (1) grade-equivalent scores; (2) inappropriate statistical adjustments with nonequivalent control groups; (3) administering norm-referenced tests at inappropriate times of the school year; (4) inappropriate…

The conference panels were organized around three topics: (1) influences of cultural background on test performance; (2) uses and limitations of factor analysis in psychological research; and (3) information which should be provided by test publishers and testing agencies on the validity and use of their tests. Panelists for the first session…

Tailored testing procedures for achievement testing were applied in a situation that failed to meet some of the specifications generally considered to be necessary for tailored testing. Discrepancies from the appropriate conditions included the use of small samples for calibrating items, and the use of an item pool that was not designed to be…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of low difficulty and high difficulty testing approaches on the informational achievement of two groups of college students enrolled in a power mechanics course. Fifty students were assigned to two groups by a modified random technique, and treatments were randomly assigned to these groups.…

The Nebraska Assessment Battery of Essential Learning Skills (N-ABELS) is a goal-oriented instrument with an evaluation component providing a basis for determining acquisition of twelve skills defined as learning goals. Each goal is stated in terms of an acceptable performance standard which clearly describes what the student must do. The skills…

This chapter of "The Best of the Best of ERIC," Volume 2, contains 18 summaries of documents and journals on competency-based education, all of which are indexed in either "Resources in Education" or "Current Index to Journals in Education." The materials included deal with various aspects of the topic, such as…

This report presents data concerning the validity of a set of experimental computerized and paper-and-pencil tests for measures of on-job performance on global and job elements. It reports on the usefulness of 30 experimental and operational variables for predicting marks on 42 job elements and on a global criterion for Electrician's Mate,…

The paper reviews previous research studies and conferences which have dealt with the question of whether large-scale testing programs are effective. It is concluded that such programs, defined as efforts to determine the status of student achievement on a school, district, state, or national basis, are not serving the informational needs of the…