Predicts that the availability of computers and demands for competency testing could drastically alter the character and uses of standardized testing by the end of the century. Warns administrators to begin preparing for the future in order to prevent misuse of the new computer capabilities. (PGD)

The contribution of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) to education is described, and the most frequently asked questions about its use are addressed. The SAT became a prominent tool in college admissions when the members of the College Board recognized in the 1930's that the Board's program of very specific subject-matter tests was no longer…

A hearing was planned by the California Senate Select Committee on Higher Education Admissions and Outreach to consider the role of the Scholastic Assessment Tests (SAT) and the American College Test (ACT) in the admission of students to California's public universities. The hearing was intended to provide a serious discussion of the merits and…

This report contains testimony and materials presented at the California Senate Select Committee on Higher Education Admissions and Outreach hearing, February 1998, held to examine the role of the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) and the American College Test (ACT) in undergraduate admissions to the public universities of California. In her…

The Hawaii Learning Project (HALP) has produced an Algebra I curriculum that stresses student learning through problem solving, communication, connections, development over time, and challenging tasks. The HALP curriculum is used by more than 16,000 students in 13 states. Scores on standardized algebra tests for HALP graduates have been about the…

This paper describes New Jersey's High School Proficiency Test (HPST) in reading, one of three tests given to all 11th graders as a state graduation requirement. Each reading passage represents one of four test types (narrative, informational, persuasive/argumentative, and workplace). Each passage is followed by multiple-choice items and at least…

The use of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) for predicting academic success has generated tremendous debate about fairness and bias. Despite discrepant observations and arguments, the need for a credible assessment formula remains strong. Although widely used by a large number of American colleges, the SAT and similar tests are not widely used…

Researchers at Educational Testing Service and elsewhere are devising methods that could help admissions officers measure educational disadvantage more systematically. One system identifies "strivers," any student scoring more than 200 points above the average score of peers with similar backgrounds, taking into account 14 variables such…

A study investigated the utility of a measure for assessing the writing apprehension of Japanese students of English as a second language. The Daly-Miller questionnaire, designed to measure writing apprehension, was translated into Japanese and administered to 687 first- and second-year students of English at a Japanese junior college. Results…

Public school students, parents, and teachers are protesting "high stakes" standardized tests that bar many deserving students from promotion or graduation. A typical high stakes test is a state-mandated 10th-grade test that students must pass to graduate high school. They are called high stakes because a student's entire high school career rides…

Effectiveness of the Mantel-Haenszel statistic in detecting differentially functioning test items was studied when the internal criterion was varied, using a dataset from a life skills examination taken by 1,000 Anglo-American and 1,000 Native American high school students. Choice of criterion variable has a substantial effect on detection. (SLD)

This digest explains basic elements of standardized tests in order to help teachers in making students feel comfortable about taking such tests. Usually created by commercial publishers, standardized tests are designed to provide a common measure of students' performance. They help compare an individual student's performance with the performance…

The relationship between high stakes testing and the teaching of science was studied through case studies of two school districts and interviews and observation with 80 teachers and with principals, students, and district personnel in grades 8, 10, and 12 in British Columbia (Canada). Examinations discouraged teaching that promoted inquiry and…

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…

Many private schools administer some type of standardized test to prospective students in an attempt to assess the student's potential for success in high school. The test results are used to assist the school in deciding whether to accept the student or to assist in the placement of the student in the appropriate curriculum level. This study…