Describes a one-semester conversational language course based on specific proficiency goals. The oral proficiency pre- and posttests, goal contracts outlining performance objectives for each chapter of the text, specific instructional and grading techniques, and class activities are detailed. (MSE)

This annual report combines the November, January, April, June, and August provincial results in diploma examination courses in Alberta, Canada. The graphs, tables, and text describe student performance for the entire school year. The report is designed to assist school personnel in identifying patterns of student achievement in Alberta and…

This report starts with a quick review of the beginning of standardized testing in U.S. schools and the reasons for growing reliance on testing. It summarizes the recent promising trends and suggests how testing for accountability could be less intrusive and provide better information about achievement in schools. The proposal for a voluntary…

Contains 11 articles about educational testing focused on the topics of guidance and information management, student achievement, mathematics teaching/learning, test score interpretation, alternatives to standardized testing, evaluation of multicultural and exceptional children, learning/cognitive training assessment models, and "blue…

Focuses on the role of tests in assessing the reading comprehension of students of English as a Second Language. The article suggests that if tests are to be useful in placing students and developing instruction, they need to provide information about the reading processes of immediate interest. (83 references) (CK)

No one can dispute that tests should measure important content, and for many (but not all) purposes, tests should be aligned with curricular goals. Thus in many cases, alignment is clearly better than the alternative, and nothing that follows here argues otherwise. Unfortunately, however, this does not imply that alignment is sufficient protection…

The development of the Polish Proficiency Test, a standardized, nationally-normed test of listening and reading comprehension for English-speaking learners of Polish, is reported. An introductory chapter provides background information about the test's development, including discussion of the relationship between the test and Polish language…

Tests of English for foreign students conducted by the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (England) and the Educational Testing Service were recognized as equivalent, though different in form and approach, in the 1930s. The underlying goal of the Cambridge certificate of proficiency was control of the English curriculum of…

The oral interaction examination used by Britain's Royal Society of Arts for testing communicative use of English as a foreign language is described. The underlying principles of the test, its structure, administration, issues of reliability and validity, and scoring are outlined. Three components of the test itself are included. One component is…

Each spring students in fifth, seventh and ninth grades in the San Diego City Schools complete a series of tests as part of the annual Districtwide Testing Program. The Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS) are used to measure student knowledge of various broad areas of the curriculum. This bulletin presents results of student achievement in…

The oral proficiency interview, a one-to-one conversational interview structured to elicit the best performance the student can sustain, is based on a scale and test developed 30 years ago by the Foreign Service Institute. Interest in it has increased substantially in recent years, and further research and development of the measure for use in a…

The goal of this monograph is to explain the evaluation program designed by Schaumburg Community Consolidated District 54, Schaumberg, Illinois. It discusses the process used in the development of the model, the product, the implication for classroom teachers and the effects of using an evaluation to assess science process skills. The process…

A variety of methods are used by the Austin (Texas) Independent School District to report the results of student achievement testing. These techniques were developed to alleviate some of the problems that occurred previously: (1) a school's average score represents very few of its students because large numbers of students score very high or very…

The article provides background rationale for the conception and development of an Assessment Alternatives Kit for mathematics. It was designed to support teachers of K-10 to explore a range of possibilities in their own classrooms. (PK)

The Social Integration Scale (SIS) is intended to facilitate empirical research on the applicability of control theory to many types of adult crime, including "street crime," white collar crime, and physical assaults on spouses. There are five subscales: (1) belief (belief in law and social control); (2) commitment (psychological…