A survey of 100 universities revealed test types, cut-off scores, and processes for testing language proficiency and performance of international teaching assistants. Results indicated the tests are complicated, time-consuming, and politically sensitive. Issues emerging include department role, use of adjustment period before teaching, and…

Previous studies of washback (the influence of a test on teaching and learning) have provided insights into the complexity of educational systems and test use, especially in relation to the role of the teacher, but have given insufficient attention to the relationship between observed practices and test design features. In this article a washback…

The purpose of this digest is to describe school counselors' roles in the area of assessment through an historical review of testing in counseling, and to report on study findings regarding roles employers require school counselors to perform. Knowledge needed by counselors to obtain evidence, evaluate its usefulness, and interpret its meaning…

This paper synthesizes information derived from five sources regarding issues in testing as they related to the American 2000; an education strategy and the national education goals. The focus is on proposed national tests. The issue of national testing extends far beyond testing itself because it touches on the structure of the U.S. educational…

During spring 1988, an initial survey was conducted among two- and four-year colleges in New York State to identify the primary reading test used for diagnosis and placement. In order to address several questions raised by the study, a follow-up survey of participating two-year colleges was conducted during fall 1989. Of the 28 two-year colleges…

Designed for helping teachers improve classroom instruction with the help of tests, this handbook highlights the different kinds of tests that indicate important things about student performance: (1) teacher-made tests used to assess student learning; (2) diagnostic tests, prepared by a test publishing company; (3) achievement tests, prepared and…

This special issue of "Catalyst", entitled Testing Programs in Schools: What's New?, was published jointly by the Nebraska Council of School Administrators and the Nebraska Association for Supervision and Curriculum. The articles emphasize desirability of designing testing programs to meet the information needs of educators and the…

This report was developed in the Test Use Project at the Center for the Study of Evaluation. The general goal of the project is to examine and describe the features and applications of tests and other assessment methods that contribute to the improvement of instruction. It is, therefore, examining the nature of current assessment practice, the…

Investigates the long-term effects of two national language tests in Israel, one in Arabic as a second language and one in English as a foreign language. The study employed questionnaires, interviews, and document analysis from teachers, students and language inspectors. Findings reveal that washback varies over time, owing to factors such as the…

Describes five propositions concerning classroom assessment. Uses propositions to review seven conference papers. Propositions refer to the following: nature of achievement; student information necessary to interpret assessments; tension between need to describe and need to praise; distinction between formal and informal assessment; and need for…

Researchers investigated the effects of frequent classroom testing on students, examining studies on adjunct questions and on mastery testing. Meta-analysis of 40 studies indicated students who took at least 1 test over 15 weeks scored one-half of a standard deviation higher on criterion examinations than did students who took no tests. (SM)

A study of 1,568 students in 10 2- and 4-year colleges and universities found that while students' self-reports of academic development and test scores developed from the same test specifications did measure the same constructs, the measures are not necessarily interchangeable. Analyses also produced ambiguous results concerning stability of…

Explores variations among states in the relationships of students' educational attainment with family backgrounds, eighth-grade course placements, and high school teachers' assessments of students' academic potential. Focuses on whether states' mandatory testing policies are associated with differences in students' attainment as measured by…

The guide is intended for teachers who must construct language tests and for other professionals who may need to construct, evaluate, or use the results of language tests. Most examples are drawn from the field of English-as-a-Second-Language instruction in the United Kingdom, but the principles and practices described may be applied to the…

The presented observations are primarily ethnographic and concern the way intelligence tests are given in schools, how biases in tests might be overcome and how black and white children are differently tested. Data on differences in testing patterns were collected via a 1978 survey of school psychologists in Illinois. The data concern the length…