In this article, the author reports on the curricular changes and testing focus that have occurred in her teaching since PRAXIS II: Principles of Learning and Teaching (PLT) tests were mandated in Ohio, where she teaches at an urban, open admissions, commuter university. Classroom dilemmas are analyzed as they relate to changes in assessments,…

International business programs, universities with international students, and educators who seek to internationalize their teaching need to make informed decisions about teaching, testing, and assessment criteria. The infusion of American business curricula throughout the world as well as the need to train American business students for…

Polygraph testing is becoming increasingly important in sex offender treatment. Polygraph advocates cite dramatic increases in historical disclosures that presumably allow more precise targeting of treatment interventions, earlier detection of risky behaviors that often lead to new offenses, and improved treatment and supervision compliance. Based…

This paper reviews the empirical studies of washback from external exams and tests that have been carried out in the field of English language teaching. It aims to do so from the point of view of the teacher so as to provide teachers with a clearer idea of the roles they can play and the decisions they can make concerning washback. The paper…

The Predictive Reading Profile (PRP) is an individual or group-administered instrument designed to examine precursors to reading difficulties by identifying children at risk for reading failure in later grades and special instructional needs for children in late kindergarten and first grade. The purpose of the PRP "is to develop a profile of a…

Today, educational reform equals testing. This over reliance on testing has come about because of a belief that a paper and pencil or computer-based test can truly measure student learning and that results can be used for punishment, reward, and accountability purposes. This simplistic approach to reform is viewed as a quick fix to long seething…

Facilitating mental computation discussion comes with its own set of challenges for researchers and teachers. It is important to be able to help capture the students' ideas, before they disappear and seem like little more than moments of magic! In enabling children to learn how numbers work, the current emphasis on mental computation is driven by…

This article revisits the important issue raised by Peter Tymms where he challenges the official government reports of an impressive rise in standards in mathematics and English in primary schools in England since 1995, suggesting that the rise in scores, particularly since 2000, does not indicate rising standards. In order to substantiate its…

The article explores sign language interpreter training, testing, and accreditation in three major English-speaking countries, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, by providing an overview of the training and assessment of sign language interpreters in each country. The article highlights the reasons these countries can be…

Studies show that misconceptions about psychology are pervasive. This study examined how the strength of prior beliefs and the sources of misinformation relate to conceptual change following an introductory psychology course. Ninety introductory psychology students completed a 36-item "Psychological Information" questionnaire. Testing during the…

Papers on the whole language approach in bilingual education include: "Whole Native Language Instruction for Limited-English-Proficient Students" (Angela L. Carrasquillo); "Communicative Competence and Whole Language Instruction in the Foreign Language Secondary School Classroom" (Rita Acuna-Reyes); "Literacy, Language, School, and Community: A…

The goal of the current study was to examine the influence of providing more optimal testing conditions and evaluate the effect this has on the validity of the score inferences across ELL students with different needs, strengths, and levels of language proficiency. It was expected that the validity of the score inferences would be similar for 3rd…

This is the fifth survey since 1998 on the state of economic and personal finance education in the fifty states conducted by National Council on Economic Education (NCEE). A leader in promoting economic and personal finance education, NCEE conducts these surveys to gauge how the state standards, their implementation, course requirements, and state…

This paper introduces criterion-referenced tests (CRTs), compares them with norm-referenced tests (NRTs), discusses how they can be evaluated and revised, and presents a study of an actual class and textbook test evaluation using CRTs. NRTs have dominated testing methodology since the mid-1970s; an example is the Test of English as a Foreign…

Provisions and purposes of four federal human resource development programs were reviewed, and options regarding the definition of basic skills and literacy were analyzed. The four programs were as follows: Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program, Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA), Adult Education Act (AEA), and the Carl D. Perkins…