The Maine Legislature requested the Maine Education Policy Research Institute (MEPRI) to conduct an assessment of standardized testing in Maine schools to understand the amount, cost, and usefulness of it. This report summarizes the resulting effort, which included a literature scan, document analysis, and surveys of two groups of school…

Although the speaking section of the "TOEFL iBT"® test is used by many universities to determine if international teaching assistants (ITAs) have the oral proficiency necessary to be classroom instructors, relatively few studies have investigated the validity of using TOEFL iBT scores for ITA screening. The primary purpose of this study…

This guide is designed to assist States, agencies, and/or facilities who work with youth who are neglected, delinquent, or at-risk (N or D). The information in the guide will benefit those who are (a) interested in implementing pre-posttests, (b) in the process of identifying an appropriate pre-posttest, or (c) ready to evaluate current testing…

Washback and fairness are interrelated in validity research, and thus an investigation into washback inevitably involves fairness. This article reports Phase One of a washback study of "Test for English Majors for Grade Eight" (TEM8). Phase One was a questionnaire survey administered to university program administrators. Two research…

Employers, postsecondary institutions, and civic leaders are urging greater focus on 21st century skills essential for college, career, and civic success: problem solving, interpersonal skills, and collaboration, among others. In response to these demands, states across the country are working to realign policies--on learning standards,…

International institutions have been increasingly using the "GRE"® revised General Test to admit students to graduate programs.However, little is known about how scores from the GRE revised General Test are used in the admission process outside of the United States and their validity in predicting graduate students' performance (e.g.,…

This report describes the implementation of policies and initiatives supported by Title I and Title II-A of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) during the 2013-14 school year. Title I is one of the U.S. Department of Education's largest programs, accounting for $15 billion in the 2016 federal budget. Historically, Title I has…

English language testing has been developing with great momentum in China in the past two decades. However, little research is existent as to how these English tests are developed, administered, and used. This study reported a survey of English language testing practice in the Chinese context through empirically examining the testing practice of…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the ways in which universities use the "GRE"® General Test scores to award merit-based fellowships to first-year graduate students in doctoral programs. While GRE use in fellowship award decisions is a common practice, there is very little validity evidence to support its use in this context.…

Just like all the high-stakes tests that determine students' futures nowadays, The Chorizo Test is a standardized test rooted in the culture of the test makers. It was originally created to be used with students in teacher training programs to sensitize them to the pitfalls inherent in standardized pencil-and-paper tests, such as linguistic bias…

This paper summarizes the steps that led to the development of new test purchaser qualification forms (TPQFs), with major emphasis on a form for an educational test publisher. Three separate research studies, conducted by the Test User Qualifications Working Group (TUQWG) of the Joint Committee on Testing Practices, constituted the research base…

Normal Curve Equivalents (NCEs), a new score system for standardized tests, are used by school districts in reporting results to federal funding agencies. The author uses a quiz format to answer questions on the use of NCE scores. (EGS)

The development of procedures by which test publishers can screen individual purchasers to minimize the possibility of test misuse is described. The Test User Qualifications Working Group (TUQWoG), an outgrowth of the Joint Committee on Testing Practices, was formed to address the prevention of test misuse through improved methods of screening…

Information about current assessment practices was obtained from 54 surveys completed by Handicapped Children's Early Education Program (HCEEP) demonstration projects across the United States. Information about factors influencing the selection and continued use of tests also was provided. Results indicated that 19 tests were used by five or more…

The New Jersey Minimum Basic Skills (MBS) testing program is the result of 1976 legislation. The major purpose, aside from establishing a uniform standard of pupil proficiency, has been to provide local districts information on individual pupil proficiency and identify program strengths and weaknesses. To better meet the needs of local districts,…