This study concerns the "highly qualified teacher" provisions of the "Elementary and Secondary Education Act" ("ESEA," 2002), as reauthorized, and other policies at the federal, state and local levels, which have aimed to elevate the content knowledge of teachers. This examination of "Praxis II" score trends…

The relationship between scores on the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT) and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children--Revised (WISC-R) was studied for 13 white and 27 African-American academically deficient male adolescent delinquents. Results support use of the K-BIT as a screening instrument and the WISC-R as a follow-up or comprehensive…

A sample of 21 guidance counselors was administered the full battery of Johnson O'Connor Research Foundation aptitude tests to compare scores with the "general population" (norm group). The counselors had worked in public schools, private schools or as self-employed consultants for an average of 10 years. The average age was 42. The tests, which…

Recent test results reveal that the test score decline has ended, but the legacy of this highly publicized educational episode continues. One widespread interpretation of the decline and recovery is that permissiveness and a collapse of standards in the late 1960s led to the decline and that a return to the basics and to tougher standards caused…

The predictive validity of scores on the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Part I and Part II examinations for the selection of residents in orthopaedic surgery was investigated. Use of NBME scores has been criticized because of the time lag between taking Part I and entering residency and because Part I content is not directly linked to…

The effect of collaborative testing on junior high school students' scores was investigated. Twenty-two students in grades 7, 8, and 9 were given curriculum-based tests in their pre-algebra classes. Some tests were taken individually in the traditional manner, and others were taken collaboratively by students in pairs over a 10-week period.…

Scores on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) were compared with reevaluation scores obtained four years later on the WAIS-Revised for a group of 108 mildly and moderately retarded adults. The moderately retarded subgroups (N=22) demonstrated significantly higher WAIS-R intelligence quotients. Implications for use of the WAIS-R are…

Eighth grade teachers in three local school districts helped customize two standardized norm-referenced tests for ninth graders to investigate effects of deleting some items and adding locally constructed items. Results indicate that percentile ranks for the customized tests could be very different from those for the complete test. (SLD)

This paper discusses whether or not revisions of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the American College Test (ACT) have created such significant differences between the two tests that a student could conceivably score significantly higher on one than the other. The SAT has been revised to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse student…

The relationship between scores on the cognitive domain of the Battelle Developmental Inventory (BDI) and scores on the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test (SBIT), Fourth Edition, was studied for 32 urban, low socioeconomic status (SES), African American children (22 males and 10 females) aged 3 to 5 years. The BDI is a developmental inventory…

The effects of test performance of differentially written multiple-choice tests and test takers' cognitive style were studied for 47 graduate students and 35 public school and college teachers. Adhering to test-writing item guidelines resulted in mean scores basically the same for two groups of differing cognitive style. (SLD)

The relationship between student scores on standardized achievement tests taken in the eighth grade and the Ohio Ninth Grade Proficiency Test (ONGPT) was studied to determine whether standardized achievement test cut-off scores can be used in place of the ONGPT. Students enrolled in the eighth grade in an urban school district in the spring of…

Test scores on the Test of Basic Concepts, a school readiness test, were compared with actual performance in school for 186 low-scoring and 133 high-scoring groups of first graders from Spain at the beginning of the school year to explore the issues of competence testing and prediction of performance. The measure of school performance was derived…

Data from the Canadian Test of English for Scholars and Trainees (CanTEST) are compared to data from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) to establish CanTEST as a valid admissions tool for English-as-a-Second Language college applicants. Data are taken from four groups of examinees who took both tests. (eight references) (LR)