The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) published a new learning style instrument in 1986--the NASSP Learning Style Profile (LSP). The LSP yields independent scores on 24 discrete elements of learning style. Its purpose is to provide educators with a well-validated and easy to use instrument for diagnosing cognitive styles,…

This survey was developed by the Ohio Sea Grant Education Program in 1979. It is been used every four years as a repeated measure of Ohio students' knowledge and attitudes about the oceans and Great Lakes, charting changes in those attributes as means of determining how well Ohio citizens are being prepared for decisionmaking about those bodies of…

The Neglect Scale was designed as a measure of neglect of children's basic needs by caretakers. It measures neglect of physical, emotional, supervisory, and cognitive needs. The version of the Neglect Scale described in this report can be used in interview or questionnaire format with adolescents to describe their current situations or with adults…

Suggests that teachers can combine the use of portfolios and tests to evaluate student performance without having to choose between one approach or the other. Discusses techniques to make portfolios and tests more indicative of student performance and achievement. (MDM)

A study was conducted to examine and compare, in 10 selected countries, the interaction between current conceptions and theories of assessment and assessment practices. Of particular interest was the nature of changing practice and theory in assessing the learning achievements of students in elementary and secondary education, as well as the…

During spring 1988, an initial survey was conducted among two- and four-year colleges in New York State to identify the primary reading test used for diagnosis and placement. In order to address several questions raised by the study, a follow-up survey of participating two-year colleges was conducted during fall 1989. Of the 28 two-year colleges…

One teacher's experience with traditional language tests suggested that the tests did not reflect the kind of communicative language learning going on in the classroom and might be counterproductive. As a result, an experiment in oral testing was undertaken in which examinees were required to process natural discourse and to relate language to…

The history and rationale for entry and exit tests devised to meet Pennsylvania's standards for certifying foreign language teachers are outlined and discussed. The involvement of the Educational Testing Service in developing and validating tests in a variety of subject areas is described, and the need for institutional rather than standardized…

How standardized achievement and mental ability tests are used in the schools, and what parents and teachers think about such testing, were investigated. Guided inventories were administered to 207 teachers from 10 schools and to 223 parents from 12 Parent-Teacher Association groups. Intensive individual interviews were conducted with 15 testing…

There has been concern over the validity of the Algebra Diagnostic Test (ADT) used to determine the actual level of student preparation for the first quarter of calculus as taught at the University of California, Santa Barbara. It has been hypothesized that performance-based questions, along with the more traditional multiple choice questions,…

Parent opinions about standardized tests and performance assessments were examined systematically. Mutually exclusive but randomly equivalent stratified samples from schools participating in a study of performance assessment and control schools were used to measure change in parent opinion over time. Approximately one-third of parents (n=105)…

Talent identification in most sports occurs through mass participation and the process of natural selection; track and field does not enjoy such widespread participation. This paper reports on a project undertaken for the following purposes: improve the means by which youth with the potential for high level performance can be identified; develop…

Because the assessment needs of young children and infants with handicaps are often quite different from those of the school-age populations with which child study teams have the most experience, this manual addresses issues relevant to the pre-kindergarten population. Chapter 1 provides an overview of general issues related to preschool…

The Early Screening Inventory-Revised (ESI-R) is a brief developmental screening instrument that is individually administered to children from 3 to 6 years of age. It is designed to identify children who may need special education services in order to perform successfully in school. The ESI-R is intended to assess the child's ability to acquire…

The criteria for accreditation and reaffirmation published by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) have been developed to assist institutions in evaluating their effectiveness. In this study, the criteria are reviewed. An instrument to assess the Southern Association criteria was developed based on input from the association's…