Suggests that ELLA (English Language and Literacy Assessment ) implemented in New South Wales, Australia, fails four tests for sound diagnostic assessment set out in a standard reference (K.W. Howell et al. "Curriculum Based Evaluation")--tests for logicality, reliability, validity, and accuracy and practicality. (RS)

Claims that arguments about the invalidity, purposelessness, and misleading nature of ELLA (English Language and Literacy Assessment ) implemented in New South Wales, Australia, remain intact despite attempts to counter the arguments. Presents a detailed critique of arguments presented in an article in the previous of this journal supporting ELLA.…

This monograph describes the third edition of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-III) and its relationship to reading/learning disabilities. It is designed for educators and students in education who want to go beyond the numerical values of the WISC-III intelligence quotients and understand the implications of the scores for the…

This document is the third volume in a set of five Career Education Measurement Handbooks intended to help local education personnel in measurement and evaluation. Divided into seven major sections, this handbook is designed to provide practical guidelines for improving career education instruments developed at the local level. It is primarily…

This manual sets forth comprehension guidelines and procedures for selecting instruments to measure educational growth, achievement, and outcomes. The necessary criteria are presented in a checklist format, permitting local district personnel to evaluate the worth of testing instruments before adoption. A subset of the criteria are defined as…

Provides a system for evaluating both the quality and the appropriateness of the placement and instructional tests that accompany basal reading series. (FL)

Universal design for assessments is an approach to educational assessment based on principles of accessibility for a wide variety of end users. Elements of universal design include inclusive test population; precisely defined constructs; accessible, non-biased items; tests that are amenable to accommodations; simple, clear and intuitive…

Starting from the premise that the assessment of second language learners' competence is a must at several points during the learning process, discusses the usefulness of laboratory testing. Argues that it allows for standardized testing, facility of test administration, easy scoring, objective measures, reliability and validity of results. (MES)

Discusses some of the major issues faced in attempting to assess systematically the effectiveness of business-communication courses (by assessing the level of improvement of students' writing competency). Discusses goals of assessment, type of test (standardized versus custom-made), guidelines for scoring, use of results, and reliability and…

This study examined the validity and reliability of four assessments, with three instruments per domain, with 103 students at residential secondary schools for the hearing or visually impaired. Domains included generalizable mathematics, communication, interpersonal relations, and reasoning skills. Data suggest the instruments are highly…

This booklet is intended to help school personnel, parents, students, and members of the community understand concepts and research relating to achievement testing in public schools. The paper's sections include: (1) test use with direct effects on students (test of certification, selection, and placement); (2) test use with indirect effects on…

The second edition of "Foundations of Psychological Testing: A Practical Approach" is a text for undergraduate students new to the field of psychological testing. Using a conversational format, the authors aim to prepare students to be informed consumers as test users or test takers. Features new to the second edition include: (1) New Content; (2)…

Procedures are described for studying the reliability of decisions based on specific passing scores with tests made up of discrete items and designed to measure continuous rather than categorical traits. These procedures are based on the estimation of the joint distribution of true scores and observed scores. (CTM)

Outlines a six-step process which can be used by faculty teams to assess the validity of criterion-referenced tests. Steps include: comparing test items with course objectives, assessing the test in terms of the domains and levels of Bloom's Taxonomy, and examining the appropriateness of various types of test questions. (JP)

Informal assessment techniques are adaptable to local adult basic education needs, relatively free of anxiety-producing format, effective time utilizers, and immediately interpretable by teacher/student. Presents assessment examples: student selected materials, Verbal Picture Analysis, graded paragraphs, Cloze Procedure, sentence completion,…