States and districts across the country are grappling with how to incorporate assessments of student learning into their teacher evaluation systems. Sophisticated statistical models have been proposed to estimate the relative value individual teachers add to their students' assessment performance (hence the term teacher "value-added" measures).…

States and districts across the country are grappling with how to incorporate assessments of student learning into their teacher evaluation systems. Sophisticated statistical models have been proposed to estimate the relative value individual teachers add to their students' assessment performance (hence the term teacher "value-added" measures).…

This report discusses the most relevant issues concerning student standardised testing in which there are no-stakes for students ("standardised testing") through a literature review and a review of the trends in standardised testing in OECD countries. Unlike standardised tests in which there are high-stakes for students, no-stakes implies that…

This paper attempts to provide practical guidance to those individuals responsible for selecting or developing instruments for assessment programs. The question of what to measure in an assessment program is addressed at a global and a specific level. Once a developer has identified the areas to be assessed, it is necessary to consider the…

Provides information on how staff members at the Study Skills Lab at the University of Texas at El Paso selected the Kolb Learning Style Inventory (KLSI) and administered it to students in the lab; how students react to the KLSI; and how results are interpreted. (DMM)

Global achievement tests are best used for broad purposes (program evaluation) or purposes such as screening which will be followed up with more precise instruments. (SB)

Essentially a do-it-yourself-kit for security in a citywide testing program, this article presents a step-by-step description of what was done by the Office of Educational Evaluation in New York City to redress a serious testing problem. (JC)

Guidelines are provided for cardiovascular fitness testing of moderately or higher functioning severely retarded individuals. (IAH)

Evaluates Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) as a rapidly administrable test of intelligence. The PPVT and Doppelt Short Form of the WAIS were given to 150 outpatients. Results suggest clinicians should be cautious in making decisions about patients on the basis of PPVT scores. (Author)

Instead of shying away from problem solving items, testing specialists should devise and offer guidelines for construction and scoring problem solving items. (Editor/LBH)

Each potential user must take the final responsibility for deciding whether a test can deliver what it promises in the situation in which it is to be used. A review procedure involves reading and evaluating research, studying technical manuals, taking the test, and communicating with others involved with the test. (Author/CM)

This article addresses the need for guidelines for accommodating students with disabilities on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children--Third Edition. Urged are guidelines concerning: initial selection of tests to administer; modifications in administration; and interpretation and reporting of results. Guidelines should be based on student…

In choosing language testing alternatives appropriate for their language education contexts, language teachers need to keep in mind the purposeful nature of language assessment. Purposeful language assessment involves focusing what is to be accomplished by language assessment, specifying intended uses of language tests, selecting appropriate…

Achievement and intelligence tests have been criticized for their adverse effects on the mental health and intellectual development of children. The fault is not with the testing, but with the instructional program. Reforms in testing must be accomplished as part of a revolution in the total instructional program encompassing: (1) a shift from a…