Examines a Danish English-language reading proficiency test offered to freshman students to diagnose weaknesses which may impede their academic careers. To facilitate the assessment of what parts can be transferred and used in other language areas, the article discusses the test construction, development and improvement. (11 references) (Author/CK)

A 25-item Likert-type survey constructed to measure teachers' attitudes toward mainstreaming was analyzed using item response theory (IRT) and confirmatory factor analysis with responses of 917 Canadian teachers. A three-factor model fit the data well. Both factor scores and IRT scores can be used in discriminant analyses. (SLD)

A hierarchical modeling approach is used in studying the predictive validity of the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examination, a key aid in selecting students for secondary education. Results from 51 schools indicated a modest predictive validity for the examination, with school and student characteristics influencing results. (SLD)

The Stability of Self Scale has been used to infer the stability of self-concept from responses collected on a single occasion. Using the large, nationally representative Youth in Transition data for 10th grade boys in public high schools in 1966, Stability of Self responses were related to the variability in self-esteem responses collected in 4…

Designed to assist community college practitioners in understanding and utilizing standardized test results for making instructional, guidance, and administrative decisions, this three-part guidebook examines the uses of test results, the evaluation of standardized tests, and procedures for interpreting test scores. Section I discusses the…

Measures of both preferred and actual classroom and school environment were administered to 1,675 secondary school students in New South Wales (Australia). Shortened versions of the My Class Inventory, Classroom Environment Scale, and Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire, as well as the Quality of School Life questionnaire were…

Eighteen papers, 11 in English, and 6 in Finnish and 1 in German are presented on the general theme "Language--Knowledge and Skill," a theme that emphasizes the need to examine the communicative goal in foreign language education from the perspective of both theory and practice. The English-language articles on foreign language testing,…

Because the achievement battery traditionally administered to Brazilian college bound students may discriminate against those who cannot afford to attend the best high schools or preparatory courses, tests were developed to measure aptitude for higher education, independent of ability or actual knowledge of course content. The focus of the…

Scales were developed to assess both the custodial and humanistic aspects of student control ideology. Research based on the responses of about 500 Hong Kong teacher education students showed responses to these scales were of adequate internal consistency, and confirmatory factor analysis supported two independent scales rather than a continuum…

The article present results of standardization of the Meadow-Kendall Social-Emotional Assessment Inventory for Deaf and Hearing-Impaired Students (Meadow, 1983), school-age version, for use in Turkey. The SEAI is a 59-item measure for assessing socioemotional adjustment of school-age deaf and hearing impaired students. A sample of 1,097 deaf…

This paper describes an English language listening test intended as computer-based testing material for secondary school students in Hong Kong, where considerable attention is being invested in online and computer-based testing. As well as providing a school-based testing facility, the study aims to contribute to the knowledge base regarding the…

Accuracy in the scoring of writing is critical if standardized tasks are to be used in a national assessment scheme. Three approaches to establishing accuracy (i.e., consensus, consistency, and measurement) exist and commonly large-scale assessment programs of primary school writing demonstrate adjacent agreement consensus rates of between 80% and…

This paper reports the development of attitudes to science and science teaching scales for primary teachers. The investigation is part of a project intended to improve pupil achievement in science in 16 English city schools. The baseline performance of the attitude scales is reported with 76 teachers, half of whom formed a control group. The…

In the Dutch Educational Assessment Program, the students' language proficiency is measured in grade 9, at age 15. Writing performance is measured through several performance-based writing tasks, rated on numerous aspects such as content, style, organization, punctuation, spelling and grammar. As a consequence, national performance levels are…

In the past decade, there have been ample interests in the assessment of cognitive and affective processes and products for the purposes of meaningful learning. Meaningful measurement (MM) has been proposed which is in accordance with a humanistic constructivist information-processing perspective. Students' responses to the assessment tasks are…