Reviews techniques of evaluation in mathematics and discusses three testing issues and their implications: objective and subjective methods, behavioral objectives in test construction, norm-referenced and criterion-referenced measures. Recommendations on testing practices are also summarized. (HM)

This article explores some problems and recent solutions to the use of norm-referenced testing of children who are culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD). It describes two promising procedures to provide unbiased assessment of CLD children's language and literacy: the use of processing-dependent measures and of dynamic assessment measures.…

The study examined the performance of 28 students (ages 12-15) with mild educational handicaps and 38 with learning disabilities on a combination of norm-referenced and curriculum-based assessment approaches. There were no significant differences on measures of word recognition, but significant differences favoring learning-disabled students…

Highlights biases, that is, learning styles and test bias, involved in testing low income Blacks with norm-referenced achievement tests. Offers suggestions to assist counselors in improving their students' test performance. (Author)

Test specifications need to take a middle road so that they are not so general that instructional targeting is impossible and not so specific that only unitary assessment targets are fostered. Using illustrative sample items provides a good means of communicating the items eligible to be tested. (SLD)

Presents data from validation study of American Council on Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Oral Proficiency (OPI). Distinctness of OPI ratings from scores generated by Test of English as a Foreign Language and one other examination is assessed on basis of comparisons among 70 sets of scores from students of English as Second Language who…

Four mathematics test-item types that may perform differently when calculators are used were assessed using data from 160 high school students attending a summer enrichment program. The effects of testing with and without calculators on testing time, test reliability, item difficulty, and item discrimination were also assessed. (TJH)

Explores the implications for student behavior of different standards. Shows that competition between students does stimulate academic effort provided students are appropriately rewarded for achieving and argues that stratifying students into groups in which each has a chance for success may be preferred to the setting of a single national…

Cohen and Hyman's response contains several misunderstandings of the original article by Mehrens and Kaminski. One frequently wishes to make inferences to a domain from a test, but teaching a specific performance and testing for that performance does not allow for a domain inference. (SLD)

Computer-based and standardized administration of the Test of Word Knowledge were compared for 30 adolescent subjects with learning disabilities. The total, receptive, and expressive composites were higher for the standard administration. Results indicated the need for independent norms for computer-based adaptations of standardized language…

Purpose: The normative group of a norm-referenced test is intended to provide a basis for interpreting test scores. However, the composition of the normative group may facilitate or impede different types of diagnostic interpretations. This article considers who should be included in a normative sample and how this decision must be made relative…

Introducing students to measurement concepts poses unique instructional challenges; yet, the importance of measurement issues for all data collection scenarios (e.g., the classroom, individual clients, sporting events) requires that students understand the value of basic measurement procedures. Illustrating the basic measurement topics of…

The purpose of this report is to provide descriptive data regarding the test scores of Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) students in grades 4, 8 and 10 in reading, math and science, as reported to the School Choice Demonstration Project 2007-2008. The tables, graphs, and histograms presented in this report provide a snapshot of these…

This paper introduces criterion-referenced tests (CRTs), compares them with norm-referenced tests (NRTs), discusses how they can be evaluated and revised, and presents a study of an actual class and textbook test evaluation using CRTs. NRTs have dominated testing methodology since the mid-1970s; an example is the Test of English as a Foreign…

In 1986 the Kentucky General Assembly passed legislation directing the Legislative Research Commission to appoint a special subcommittee, the Special Subcommittee on Essential Skills Testing, to study the Kentucky Essential Skills Testing Program (KEST) and to make recommendations concerning the program. This report presents the findings and…