This historical critique of high-stakes testing in reading focuses on selected events from three historical movements: 1) the history of standardized testing, 2) the history of standardized reading tests, and 3) the history of high-stakes testing. These three interrelated histories have produced the high-stakes, standardized reading tests used in…

The "Washington English Language Proficiency Assessment" (WELPA) is a No Child Left Behind (NCLB)-compliant instrument that is used in Grades K-12 as a formal and standardized method of measuring language proficiency. The test results provide important information for classifying English Language Learners (ELLs) and subsequently for…

Describes the test, The Degrees of Reading Power, developed by the New York State Education Department for use as a formalized "informal reading inventory." (MKM)

Standardized tests represent one way of obtaining assessment information. Yet in recent years educators and the public have voiced concerns about an overriding emphasis on tests and test scores. Pressure to "teach to the test" means that not enough time is spent on higher order thinking and literacy skills because minimal competencies…

This bulletin presents a description of the general education subtests of the Florida Teacher Certification Examination. Information is provided on: (1) competencies and skills tested in the reading subtest; (2) general subtest and item specifications of the writing tests--methods used in evaluating writing ability and rating rationales for…

Much of what has developed in the testing of reading harkens back to the days of the "Cult of Efficiency" movement in education that can be largely attributed to Frederick Winslow Taylor. Taylor spent most of his productive years studying time and motion in an attempt to streamline industrial production so that people could work as…

This report describes a study undertaken to refine the guidelines of the Wisconsin Design for Reading Skill Development and to suggest general procedures for implementing any skill-centered approach to teaching reading. The first part of the report sets forth the purpose and focus of the study, with a literature review to define the nature of…

Although minimum competency testing is increasingly popular, there is presently a paucity of information on teachers' and principals' use of and attitudes toward these testing programs. Therefore, a study examined the use and perceived impact of standardized reading tests in Puerto Rico and compared these results to the results of a similar study…

One hundred fifty-one urban ninth grade students participated in an investigation of the effect of differentiated content in two congruent tests of reading. A congruent test was constructed by substituting information relevant to junior high school students within the parameters of a nonrelevant, standardized state test of reading. By maintaining…

The proliferation of minimum competency testing in recent years has not resulted in a critical analysis of the construct validity of such tests. The present study examined the dimensionality and construct validity of an urban life skills competency test (the 1987 eighth-grade Chicago Minimum Proficiency Skills Test (MPST) via linear analysis. The…

Describes an empirical study that suggests using a cutoff score of 75 instead of the currently used score of 80 for the CPT Reading Comprehension Test (CPT-Read), which is used to place students in remedial coursework at Suffolk Community College. Also reviews the policy implications of establishing a lower cutoff score. Includes six data tables.…

Arguing that educational testing has not grown with the theory and knowledge base of the reading field, this paper cites the current configuration of testing as a major contributor to the instructional stagnation, methodological back-to-basics movement, and general lack of excitement and true innovation found in classrooms and schools today. The…

Committees on Content Analysis and Correlation Studies were appointed by the Alabama State Superintendent of Education to provide information regarding the similarities and differences between the Californa Achievement Tests (CAT), Levels 13-C and 16-C, and the Alabama Basic Competency Tests (BCT), grade 3 and 6. The major purpose of these…

Florida requires all students in grades 3, 5, 8, and 11 to demonstrate mastery of minimum performance standards using the Florida Student State Assessment Test (SSAT) forms for the appropriate grade level. The tests are administered in October and cover reading, writing, and mathematics. Current practices used to prepare students for the SSAT…

This study was designed to examine the extent to which Illinois Goal Assessment Program (IGAP) constructing meaning scores correlate with Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) reading scores and with performance on ITBS items dealing with literal meaning, inferences, and generalizations. In addition, this study assessed the ability of the IGAP reading…