Findings of an audit of the New York State Education Department's procedures to maintain security over Pupil Evaluation Program (PEP) and Program Evaluation Test (PET) examination materials are presented in this report. The audit sought to determine whether the department's security procedures adequately prevented unauthorized access to exam…

This paper explores common concerns about competency testing as they relate to the certification of high school graduates seeking a diploma in the United States. Competency testing is widespread in the United States, with 40 states engaged in competency testing in at least one grade. In general, and particularly for graduation requirements, the…

Scotland, like many countries, has a system of externally-administered syllabus-based examinations, set at two points: the end of compulsory schooling, which serves as a basis for entry to junior college "non-advanced further education" (mainly vocationally oriented); and at the end of grade 12, which serves as a basis for admission to…

Standard setting practices in states using the NTE (formerly the National Teacher Examinations) were examined for 1987. The NTE is composed of two segments: (1) a Core Battery covering the communication skills and general knowledge skills; and (2) a test of professional knowledge about teaching. The processes used to establish passing scores for…

The Maryland State Department of Education issued a request for proposals to develop a score reporting system for the Maryland Functional Testing Program. RMC Research Corporation conducted a literature review of extant literature and developed a national survey of non-norm-referenced test score reporting practices. This comprehensive analysis of…

A solution to reduce the likelihood of one examinee copying another's answers on large scale tests that require all examinees to answer the same set of questions is to use multiple test forms that differ in terms of item ordering. This study was conducted to determine whether varying the sequence in which blocks of items were presented to…

This paper presents two examples of how methodological research in testing and evaluation simultaneously served the needs of both researchers and practitioners. The first example focuses on Center for the Study of Evaluation (CSE) research in writing assessment. This research investigated issues in domain definition, cognitive processing…

To meet the needs of visually-impaired candidates, Educational Testing Service (ETS) has traditionally provided tests in three special formats: large-print, Braille, and cassette. Certain ETS programs permit the use of the candidate's reader or the use of amanuensis, that is, someone who records answers for the candidate. The primary goal of…

Project Basic is a program developed by the Maryland State Department of Education to assure that students attain basic skills in a variety of areas. Two levels of tests are given in grade 7 to monitor progress, and in grades 9 to 12 to determine whether each student has met the state minimum competency level. Students must pass the higher level…

The purpose of this study was to determine if a significant relationship existed between nursing students' scores on the Mosby Assess Test and the students' scores on the National Council Licensure Examination. The subjects consisted of 172 nursing students in their last semester of the Associate Degree Nursing program at the Eastern Kentucky…

This report describes the sequence of activities that took place as the Examination Division of the New Jersey Department of Civil Service introduced a word processing system for a test item bank and for production of camera-ready test copy. The equipment selection, installation and orientation procedures are discussed. Keyboard and CRT terminals,…

The number of schools and students tested in the Department of Defense (DoD) High School Testing Program has declined since the program reached its peak in the school year 1974-75. Telephone interviews with school counselors indicated that the decline was due to school-related difficulties of test administration, lack of student interest, and the…

This paper reports on the promises and pitfalls of the recently legislated basic skills testing requirement for teaching or service credential applicants in California. The California Basic Education Skills Test (CBEST), developed by Educational Testing Service from specifications set by Advisory Board to the State Department of Education, tests…

This paper reports the results of a survey conducted in the spring of l981 that was designed to collect and summarize guidelines on appropriate test use from the various organizations, agencies, and associations involved in standardized educational testing. The primary objective of the study was to learn how these various groups define the issues…

The Stanford Achievement Test (SAT), Test of Academic Skills Level I was administered to 10,186 tenth grade students in Hawaii during fall 1984. This two-section report presents findings from the SAT's mathematics subtest. This subtest measured students' competency in these nine areas: numbers, symbols, and sets; number properties and operations…