The concept of overlap between instruction and assessment is defined. The influence of tests on teaching and the teacher as curricular content decision maker is described. A model of how awareness of this overlap can move curriculum practice into alignment with an assessment system is presented. (Author/MT)

Development of survey test materials for the Australian national testing program in literacy and math skills is discussed. (HTH)

The state of the art in college-level competency testing is described, as is the development of a communication test for the University of Wisconsin-Parkside program. The research described herein exposes the fact that some students have communication problems which could inhibit their learning abilities. Valid and reliable procedures are needed…

Intended to assist those working in the field of occupational competency testing, this report summarizes major milestones in the history of competency measurement in vocational education and overviews the current state of the art. To provide an orientation to the environment that stimulated the current interest in occupational competency testing,…

Discusses issues involved in the construction, validity, and use of tests that evaluate educational progress, especially those that assess higher-order cognitive functioning. Reviews the four articles in this special issue. (FMW)

The Maryland State Department of Education issued a request for proposals to develop a score reporting system for the Maryland Functional Testing Program. RMC Research Corporation conducted a literature review of extant literature and developed a national survey of non-norm-referenced test score reporting practices. This comprehensive analysis of…

Minimum competencies are being imposed on the schools by state legislators frustrated by declining academic achievement. Teachers must not allow this movement to engender a "teaching for the test" mentality. They must work for a balanced curriculum, good remedial programs, and competency tests which provide real feedback for teaching. (SJL)

Describes the test, The Degrees of Reading Power, developed by the New York State Education Department for use as a formalized "informal reading inventory." (MKM)

The controversy over minimum competency testing (MCT) is multi-faceted and it is the Local Education Agency (LEA) which will bear the burden of the MCT movement. Among the concerns of the LEAs are the means of assessment, the content of tests, and the curricular implications of MCT. (RLV)

In light of the widespread use of competency testing, the authors consider that it is important to determine ways of developing and using competency testing to insure that it achieves its full potential. The paper, in three parts, introduces a model for the development and validation of competency tests, reviews several methods for setting…

Competency testing often refers to a system devised to assure successful performance on a specific test, in addition to other mandated criteria as a requisite to obtaining a high school diploma. Minimum competency testing is usually defined in one of two ways: as the acquisition of basic skills or as the demonstrated ability to apply basic skills…

Mounting concern for student achievement in writing has refocused attention on the features of writing assessment necessary to represent a student's skill fairly, usefully and economically. If writing tests are to fulfill their intended function, the writing assignments and evaluative criteria of large scale tests and instruction must interrelate.…

Arguing that educational testing has not grown with the theory and knowledge base of the reading field, this paper cites the current configuration of testing as a major contributor to the instructional stagnation, methodological back-to-basics movement, and general lack of excitement and true innovation found in classrooms and schools today. The…

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…

The literature on essay testing, and particularly the selection of topics which will stimulate the writing of essays, was reviewed in order to recommend a set of specifications that will produce topics that are maximally fair to all teacher certificate candidates. It was found that by far the greater part of the research relating to writing…