In June 1986, 281 Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC) students rewrote one or more sections of the College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) because, with few exceptions, they did not pass on a previous administration. A study was conducted to investigate the performance of these students on the four CLAST subtests and to compare their…

This document includes three papers which address the special demands that supported employment places on vocational evaluation and assessment practices. An introductory chapter by Frank Rusch et al. discusses target populations of the Illinois Supported Employment Program, program evaluation, degree of program implementation, and costs and…

Because critical thinking has become a popular topic among speech communication educators in recent years, this paper reviews the literature on teaching critical thinking skills and discusses its relevance for speech communication instruction. First, the paper briefly sketches the history of the critical thinking movement and describes the…

The present investigation represents a systematic effort to determine whether handicapped children have been included in the development of test norms, items, and indices of reliability and validity. It analysed up-to-date user manuals and technical supplements of 27 well known and widely used aptitude and achievement tests. Study procedure…

An alternative to the traditional standardized test of language proficiency administered to Israeli students at the end of secondary school is proposed as a means of giving schools more autonomy in the testing process. The test was designed based on the following assumptions: (1) the test matches the curriculum and not vice versa; (2) the…

The use of standardized tests and test data to detect and address differences in cognitive styles is advocated here. To this end, the paper describes the componential theory of intelligence addressed by Sternberg et. al. This theory defines the components of intelligence by function and level of generality, including: (1) metacomponents: higher…

In an appraisal of proficiency tests currently available for English as a second language (ESL), it is found that linguistic competence, rather than communicative proficiency, is being measured. Problems involved in developing standardized communicative tests for use with different age groups in a multicultural school context are discussed.…

The Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District Office of Program Evaluation and Research is responsible for providing information for program development and improvement; providing test information to special programs coordinators; and acting as a clearinghouse for all information concerning tests, evaluation methodology, and educational…

This paper provides school personnel with a practical outline for selecting an appropriate standardized achievement battery by describing the test selection procedures developed by a large metropolitan school system. The system needed a new achievement test battery which would reflect recent curriculum changes and provide for grade level testing.…

This volume includes the tests, questionnaires, letters, manuals, findings, and analyses associated with the field evaluation of "ThinkAbout," a series of 60 15-minute programs organized in 13 clusters and designed to strengthen the reasoning skills of fifth and sixth graders, and to review and reinforce language arts, mathematics, and…

This report summarizes selected information from American College Testing (ACT) Program records (1978-79 through 1982-83) for five groups of ACT Assessment examinees: (1) examinees who indicated that they did not have a disability that might require special services from the college they planned to attend (these examinees tested on national test…

In April 1969, the year before school district reorganization, students in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania were given the 1965 version of the Stanford Achievement Test. In April 1976, the sixth year of desegregation, students were given the 1973 version of the Stanford Achievement Test. This paper presents seven charts comparing the 1969 scores in…

Through the conceptual use of systems analysis, systems which impinge upon current urban education are discussed in this paper. Examples are offered of subsystem changes within education and ways these changes affect the results of the educational system. Relationships between urban education and the United States social and economic systems are…

Approximately three years after a sample of vocational education teachers in Florida took the General Examinations, College-Level Examination Program (CLEP), the impact of the use of CLEP scores by teachers (392) in their professional development was assessed. Indicators of professional growth were teaching rank, salary, and degree status.…

An incentive pay plan for teachers was implemented in the Houston (Texas) Independent School District in the 1979-80 school year. The "outstanding educational progress" (OEP) component of the plan was based on student performance on standardized tests. Schools were grouped to allow students of similar socioeconomic backgrounds to be…