Administrative and technical problems were encountered in carrying out a minimum competency program for high school students in the Austin (Texas) Independent School District. The history of required minimum competency testing was reviewed briefly, and the process of clarifying and operationalizing the requirements was described within the Austin…

This book of readings for counselors, researchers, faculty, graduate students, and policy-makers provides information regarding issues on sex fairness and sex bias in occupational interest measurement. The papers are presented in three sections, with each section prefaced by introductory comments by the editors. The first section, an introduction,…

The broad topic of preparing examinations for college-level courses is addressed in this guide. General suggestions include the following: devise a test that reinforces the objectives established for the course; decide upon the primary purpose of the test before constructing it; make the test as valid and reliable as possible; and standardize the…

A procedure to relate funding decisions and project evaluations in an annual grant program for vocational education administered by a state education department (SED) is described. Objectives of the study included developing a set of predictor variables for funding decisions, and outcome variables for evaluating decisions; determining consensus…

The work of the United States Civil Service Commission's Personnel Research and Development Center to develop a basis for the written test portions of the Professional and Administrative Career Examination (PACE) is described. The objective was the identification of a construct-valid set of cognitive ability tests for entry level positions.…

Thirty-eight research reports and summaries of projects studying law school admission and the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) are presented. These research projects were supported by the Law School Admission Council between 1949 and 1969. A subject and an author index, for this and the following volume, covering 1970-1974, are also provided. The…

The generalizability and concurrent validity of the FLOAT (Formal Lecture Observation Assessment Inventory) were studied. College instructors were rated, using the FLOAT, by their students and by trained observers who viewed videotapes of the classes. The teachers were also asked to evaluate themselves. A previous study of interrater reliability…

Three tests of daily living skills for retarded adolescents were developed and validated: making purchases, seeking jobs, and using banks. These three tests were adapted from three of the nine sections of the Social and Prevocational Information Battery (SPIB), a test made up mostly of true-false items. Each of the three tests were developed in…

The development of the English as a Second Language Assessment Battery (ESLAB) was based on needs indicated by achievement and placement statistics. The selection of the proficiency skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) was supported by changing views in language assessment and by legislation. Andrew D. Cohen's language model was…

Because individual teachers have ultimate control over the implementation of educational innovations, their feelings toward innovation are of interest to educational researchers. The Concerns-Based Adoption Model was based on research findings about educational dissemination and change. The model describes adoption of innovation as a growth…

The nature and common uses of standardized achievement tests are described and placed in context in order to evaluate claims and criticisms that are commonly made. Tests are described as samples of behavior and hence subject to sampling errors. Much of the debate is dominated by emotion and prejudices. There is very little empirical evidence about…

Studies conducted by the United States Military Academy and Air Force Academy showed that many cadets who had attended preparatory schools which prepared high school graduates for college admission performed below what had been predicted by their scores on college entrance examinations. Based on these findings, about 1,200 students from 10…

This study examines the usefulness of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) in predicting the reading achievement of 74 disabled readers in grade 3 on the word recognition subtest of the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT). The WRAT word recognition subtest was used because previous research has demonstrated a high positive…

Two paper and pencil group tests were assessed for their ability to classify subjects as concrete or formal operational. The two group tests, Sheehan's (1970) version of Longeot's three subtests and set of three puzzles, were administered to 607 students from ninth- and tenth-grade science and mathematics classes. A subsample of 69 students was…

The study described in this paper examined the degree to which temperament trait characteristics of young children are perceived in a similar way by mothers and preschool teachers. Temperament ratings were obtained from mothers and from preschool teachers for 38 preschool children between the ages of 2 1/2 and 5 years of age. The children were…