Differentiating between time-series design and time-series analysis, examines design considerations and reanalyzes data previously reported by Mayer and Kozlow in this journal. The current analysis supports the analysis performed by Mayer and Kozlow but puts the results on a somewhat firmer statistical footing. (Author/JN)

Discusses the limitations of crossnational comparisons of secondary student performance in the U.S. and selected European and Pacific industrial countries, using mathematics and science data from the International Assessment for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). Suggests the most serious problem is the rise of a new educational…

Issues in the foreign language placement of college students are discussed: the necessity of a placement test for all incoming students, selection of such a test from the available options, decline of student performance in the last 20 years, and articulation courses from high school to college. (MSE)

To reduce test anxiety, students were given increased information about the probable question types on end-of-unit examinations. Two experimental testing formats, a combination of the two, and the typical practice of providing no additional information were compared. Results show that additional information can reduce anxiety but not necessarily…

Equality of educational opportunity within Minimum Competency Testing is analyzed in terms of the distribution of outcomes, availability of remediation, and effectiveness of remediation for Blacks and Whites. (Author)

Offers teaching suggestions for public relations, media history, mass communications, broadcast journalism, and journalism education. (HOD)

Describes an experiment conducted by the English department at the University of Missouri, Columbia, in which a brief essay written at home was used to help place incoming freshmen in appropriate writing classes. (JL)

Using an input-output framework, the author derives hypotheses on wage differentials based on the assumption that human capital (in this case, education) will explain workers' wage differentials. The hypothetical wage differentials are tested on data from the Italian economy. (RW)

Evaluated 11 of the most popular tests used by school psychologists in Illinois as to their technical adequacy along three dimensions: norms, reliability, and validity. Results suggested that the most popular tests used by school psychologists are not typically technically adequate devices. (Author)

Describes the operation of TESTS (A Test Exchange for Service Teachers of Science) which searches out, solicits, reviews, and catalogs test materials. Organization of existing nonpublished instruments is described. Implications are made for future test development in science education. (CS)

The utility of general or select response formats for evaluating certain types of clinical competence is studied. Consideration of the suitability of an examination format to fulfill its intended purpose and the appropriateness of the questions included is recommended when designing an examination. (Author/AL)

Mathematical tasks calling for relational thinking were given to 60 children of Indian, Pakistani, or Bangladeshi origin who had spent their school lives in England, 60 who had arrived within the past 3 years, and 60 British children. Differences in the ability to abstract, hypothesize, and generalize were studied. (KC)

In 1979, the state of Massachusetts identified 11 listening and 14 speaking skills as part of a basic skills program in elementary/secondary schools. The authors were asked to recommend methods of assessing these skills. The article summarizes their decision process and includes the recommendations. (PD)

Reports on the development of an assessment instrument to test basic communication skills necessary for students' success in college. Covers the instrument's conceptual foundation, administration procedures, development, and analysis. (PD)

This study investigated the adequacy of the Rasch model in equating existing standardized tests with groups of examinees not widely separated in ability. With the exception of one test pair and one grade level, the Rasch model using the anchor test procedure provided a reasonably satisfactory means of equating. (Author/CTM)