This report reviews the major international and regional large-scale educational assessments, including international surveys, school-based surveys and household-based surveys. The report compares and contrasts the cognitive and contextual data collection instruments and implementation methods used by the different assessments in order to identify…

A basic level of literacy and numeracy is essential for full participation in modern societies. While very few people in most of the advanced countries could be regarded as illiterate or innumerate, recent studies have shown that there are, in fact, significant numbers of people with poor skills, and that low levels of skills are associated with…

In 1967 Gough and McGurk proposed a 30 item set of geometric forms and illusions for use in cross-cultural study of cognitive functioning. An Italian survey was therefore initiated to determine the applicability of the series and its validity in specifying age related cognitive levels. The results are discussed. (Author)

Positive approaches to increase student achievement in language classes focus on the potential influence of norm-referenced and criterion-referenced tests. The author cites instances to prove that teacher efficiency increases when teachers are held responsible for student achievement. Discussion of success factors relates testing practices…

Examines accuracy evaluation in published testing programs of the following: J. M. Cattell; C. Spearman; A. Binet; L. M. Terman; R. M. Yerkes; E. L. Thorndike; and W. D. Scott. Developing community and consensus on testing required convergence between theorists and practitioners. (SLD)

The next seven years will see important changes in the Washington Pre-college Testing Program for post-high school guidance. In the near future, the current cognitive emphasis of the program will be altered to include more attitudinal measures like a vocational interest inventory and an assessment of educational, employment, and life goals. In…

This report is designed to provide the Norwalk (Connecticut) Board of Education and the entire school community with the status of the school system testing program for the spring of 1987. From May 6 through May 15, the system administered the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBSs) and the Test of Cognitive Skills (TCS) to 5,113 students in…

A SURVEY INSTRUMENT DESIGNED TO PROVIDE FOR THE REPORTING OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF TESTS AND THE USE MADE OF TEST SCORES WAS MAILED TO THE 664 MEMBER INSTITUTIONS OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGES FOR TEACHER EDUCATION. THE MAJOR OBJECTIVES OF THE SURVEY WERE TO (1) DETERMINE THE SCOPE OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF TESTS TO STUDENTS IN TEACHER…

TWO FORMS OF PAPER AND PENCIL ACHIEVEMENT TESTS WERE ASSEMBLED IN FOUR AND ONE FORM WAS ASSEMBLED IN THE OTHER OF THE FIVE TRADE CURRICULUM AREAS IN WHICH THE PROJECT IS DEVELOPING ACHIEVEMENT MEASURES. DESIGN AND PRODUCTION OF 10 OF THE 12 MEASURES OF PERFORMANCE FOR THE FIVE AREAS WERE COMPLETED. NINE HOURS OF TESTING TIME WERE REQUESTED OF THE…

Results from the fall 1987 administration of the Cognitive Skills Assessment Battery (CSAB) to 3,203 kindergarten and 4,415 first-grade students within the Charleston County (South Carolina) School District are presented. The CSAB is an individually administered readiness test that comprises a hybrid of aptitude tests, diagnostic tests, and…

This manual for examiners administering the Primary Test of Economic Understanding (PTEU) describes the purpose, development, and validity of the test which is designed to provide a measure of students' growth and a means to assess the effectiveness of existing materials, teaching strategies, and pre-service and in-service economics education…

This paper discusses higher-order cognitive skills, provides examples of appropriate test item content in various subject areas, and describes higher-level cognitive skills which might be tested by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Higher-order cognitive skills are said to be more difficult to measure than simpler skills;…

IN PHASE I (OF THREE) OF A RESEARCH PROJECT, 475 SOUTHERN DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN (RANGING IN AGE FROM 3 TO 6) WERE TESTED IN AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE DESCRIPTION, DEVELOPMENT, AND SEQUENCING OF COGNITIVE ABILITIES DESIGNED TO YIELD INFORMATION ON CHILDREN'S LEARNING WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING AND CURRICULUMS. COGNITIVE TASKS WERE SELECTED…

In 1985, for the first time, Pennsylvania's student assessment program included measures of a higher order thinking skills goal termed Analytical Thinking. These tests utilize a decision-making model to assess such skills as drawing inferences, identifying appropriate information to gather before making a decision, analogical reasoning,…