This article briefly reviews the history of intellectual assessment of children and youth in the United States of America, as well as current practices and future directions. Although administration of intelligence tests in the schools has been a longstanding practice in the United States, their use has also elicited sharp controversy over time.…

Developed jointly by the American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, and the National Council on Measurement in Education, "Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing" (Revised 2014) addresses professional and technical issues of test development and use in education, psychology, and…

Implications of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) on the development and use of tests in school settings are enumerated. We predict increased demand for behavioural assessments that consider a person's activities, participation and person-environment interactions, including measures that: (a) address…

Educational assessment and, more broadly, educational research in the United States have entered into an era characterized by a dramatic increase in the prevalence and importance of test score use in accountability systems. This volume covers a selection of contemporary issues about testing science and practice that impact the nation's public…

Within the context of standards-based educational systems, states are using large scale reading assessments to help ensure that all children have the opportunity to learn essential knowledge and skills. The challenge for developers of accessible reading assessments is to develop assessments that measure only those student characteristics that are…

Disadvantages of traditional intelligence tests with handicapped children are discussed, and an alternative approach, The "Assessment of Basic Competencies" (ABC) is presented. The background and design of the ABC and the three domains of the model (language skills, math reasoning skills, and information processing skills) are…

An objective, 63-item measure of 12 types of parent participation in their child's special education program was developed and evaluated from teachers reporting the involvement of 229 families. Preliminary findings suggest that the instrument can be useful in determining overall involvement, mother-father differences, and in designing…

The project explored the assessment of vocational decision-making capacities of handicapped students within the educational system, specifically the Decision-Making Interview (DMI) instrument. The adaptability, reliability, validity, and utility of the DMI with handicapped secondary students were investigated. Under an instrument adaptation phase…

Expresses concern with prevailing models that suggest comprehensive assessment across all areas of family strengths and needs for Individual Family Service Plan development for families of young children with disabilities. Issues of instrument development and use, the types and nature of early intervention services provided, and the role of…

This document consists of the five issues of the newsletter of the General Educational Development (GED) Testing Service: January/February, March/April, May/June, September/October, and November/December. Each issue contains information of interest to users of the GED examinations. The feature article for the January/February issue is "Next…

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…

Current testing and selection practices in schools and the workplace are examined to describe the experiences of handicapped people and to determine the extent to which testing is a barrier to the full participation of handicapped people in society. The Panel on Testing of Handicapped People dealt in depth with the legal and psychometric issues…

This document, fourth in a series, describes trends in statewide assessment programs. It is based on surveys conducted in the past for the Association of State Assessment Programs. States were asked to describe the assessment programs they operated during the 1995-96 school year. Part One of the survey asks each state to describe its existing…

The fifth edition of the "Annual Survey of State Student Assessment Programs," tabulates extensive and detailed information about each state's assessment programs based on surveys conducted in the past for the Association of State Assessment Programs. The entire survey is presented. Part One asks each state to describe its existing…

States use many high-stakes assessments to make decisions about individuals. These tests may be criticized by those who believe that their purpose or application is discriminatory. Because litigation is time consuming and costly, it is advantageous for states to plan assessments carefully to maximize legal defensibility. This handbook is designed…