This paper aims to provide practical advice for creating a placement test for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) or English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) instruction. Three forms of concrete assistance are provided: a detailed literature review; detailed steps focusing on the creation of placement tests; and a set of recommendations focusing on…

Multidimensional rating forms used for college student evaluation of faculty elicit information that can be used to evaluate the dimensions of instruction either separately or globally. Portions of the information may be useful for formative evaluation, but global items are best for making personnel decisions. (MSE)

Describes study that investigated the relationship between participation in a business simulation game and performance on a final exam in a principles of marketing course. Past research on business games is reviewed; the use of midterm exam performance level as a pretest variable is explained; and question classification is described. (44…

Assessment instruments play an important role in the 2-year college career planning and development process. The importance of these devices indicates that considerable thought and planning is necessary to ensure use of the best instruments for the particular college. A literature review and a survey of seven 2-year colleges in the Albany, New…

A review of the basic information on intelligence testing as a schooling practice is presented, including a discussion of what intelligence is and three psychological approaches to studying intelligence (psychometric, behavioristic, and developmental). All intelligence tests derived from the psychometric approach are standardized and…

The Instructional Support System for Occupational Education (ISSOE), developed in New York during the past five years, consists of a student-outcome-oriented curriculum that is locally developed and implemented by teachers. The teachers who have been using the ISSOE materials have indicated some difficulty in implementing the system because of the…

Two self-administered, self-scored, and self-interpreted career interest inventories used by adolescents and adults are described, the Self-Directed Search and its Form Easy, an adaptation for poor readers. The paper discusses test components, subtests, and theory; gender issues; interpretation; appropriateness; coding discrepancies; and…

The KeyMath Revised is a power test that measures the understanding and application of mathematics skills and concepts. It is individually administered and is intended for students from kindergarten through the ninth grade to determine student mastery of mathematics concepts. The revised version is designed to be user-friendly for the student and…

A discussion of teaching and testing oral skills in a second language looks at issues in the testing of speaking ability in general, the effect that testing can have on teaching, and the kinds of communicative activities that can be built into a foreign language program with oral proficiency as a goal. The issues addressed include the differential…

This report summarizes 48 states' current policies on the participation of students with disabilities in large-scale assessments and the accommodations noted in state policies as available for those students. In developing the summary, changes in state assessment policies were also checked. Charts in the report provide information on presentation…

The Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS) are intended to measure use of nonviolent discipline, psychological aggression, and physical assault in parent-child and other family relationships. The latter two scales provide a basis for identifying psychological and physical maltreatment. Two revisions of the CTS became available in 1996. One, the CTS2 is…

In assessing the quality of science teaching for an effort such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), it is important to understand what is meant by scientific thinking--the search for explanations. Instruction should involve higher-order cognitive skill development, but it is difficult to measure reasoning and understanding…

Two Toronto community English-as-a-second-language (ESL) programs used oral interview tests to place adults in appropriate programs. Instruments used included: Foreign Service Oral Interview; Ilyin Oral Interview; object-oriented testing; group testing; performance in authentic situations; Ontario Test of English as a Second Language; and George…

This document summarizes the research on test changes to provide an empirical basis for defining accommodations for students with disabilities. It begins by providing an historical overview of special education accountability. It describes how separate special education accountability systems have evolved and summarizes information on the…

This review of research on assessment of second-language listening abilities looks at some testing issues and challenges (assessing higher-level skills, confounding of skills, assessing listening in oral interaction, authenticity), discusses assessment methods and techniques (test administration, item formats), and considers potential applications…