Test scores are being used for a variety of inappropriate purposes, often to the detriment of minorities. This article recounts recent evidence on misuse of testing, offers strategies for preventing abuse, and urges professionals to take on active roles in preventing misuse of their wares. (LMO)

This book explores the practice of testing. Two postulates are assumed: that student assessment should improve performance, rather than just monitoring it, and that testing should be only a small facet of assessment. The first chapter, "Introduction: Assessment and the Morality of Testing," considers what assessment is and how it differs from…

This collection is based on the fact that employment, housing, and consumer rights and opportunities are often inextricably linked and mutually dependent. The papers explore aspects of creating a national report card on discrimination, assessing the role that testing and other social science methodologies might play in its formulation. The papers…

The need to conduct assessments in languages other than English is growing rapidly. In addition to the rising number of children who do not speak English as their language at home, the number of different languages spoken by children in public schools is also increasing rapidly. Shifting demographics strongly support the need to increase the…

The quality and the effectiveness of the 1992 New Jersey Grade 8 Early Warning Test (NJEWT) are assessed. Standardized tests possess clear advantages for educators, especially in the case of administration and scoring, but there are clear disadvantages as well, including the possibility of bias. Four criteria are applied to the NJEWT: adequacy,…

Whether increasing reliance on policy-driven assessment for accountability and control of educational institutions is actually sabotaging long-term goals and purposes of the schools is explored, questioning whether current practices of high-stakes testing are anathema to real education values. The distinction between policy-driven assessment and…

Confusion in the terminology used in criterion-referenced measurement specifications and development and standard setting and the attendant role of cut-off scores are shown to need practical clarification through psychometric research on test applications and consequences. (CM)

Tests are used in hopes that disclosure of accomplishments will be made, but teachers sometimes feel they are being penalized for giving consideration to the whole child's development instead of concentrating on drill that would result in higher test scores. Standardized tests cause apprehension about control of student placement and instruction.…

Parents have needs, rights, interests, and responsibilities to know how standardized tests are used in the schools and to call attention to inaccurate test results; to judge the quality of education reflected by tests; and to have information to understand tests to help assess their children's abilities and achievement. (Author/CM)

Using evidence of student learning to evaluate teacher effectiveness is discussed. Since standardized achievement tests cannot and will not do the job, alternatives are explored. Evaluators should focus not on test results derived from centralized standardized testing programs, but on results derived from teachers' classroom assessments of student…

In addition to the benefits of the oral proficiency movement, problems are seen, including flaws in the claim that the testing is proficiency based, the potential misuse of competency-based education, and the Oral Proficiency Interview's inability to test nonlinguistic barriers to communication. (Author/MSE)

Twenty-four French-speaking students in a northeast Ontario (Canada) elementary school were administered an intelligence test in grades three, five, and eight. Significant differences among the three testings raise concerns about the practice of intelligence testing among cultural minority populations. Such tests should not be administered to all…

Responds to "The Bell Curve" by arguing that IQ is merely a statistical fiction, an artificial construct not corresponding to any real entity. Discusses the "seductive statistical trap of factor analysis" as it relates to IQ tests, multiple intelligences, content and bias of IQ tests, lack of validity of IQ tests for individual…

Examined whether variations in construction and scoring (frequency, sum, average scores) of life events scale (stress measure) for adolescents yielded different outcomes. Findings from 1,740 high school students indicated that frequency of life events and their average intensity were distinct measures and of equal importance when assessing stress…

Sixty-three preservice teachers were asked to respond to the idea of cheating while administering a standardized test to their students. Over half said they would cheat under certain conditions, such as benefit to the students or if the test was inappropriate. Cheating considered acceptable included giving hints, rewording items, and teaching to…