The proliferation in intelligence tests brings with it several problems of misuse. It is proposed that the use of intelligence testing devices be restricted to persons who can demonstrate competence in administration and interpretation. Legislation is required to provide control of test distribution and requirements for licensing test…

Use of the System of Multicultural Pluralistic Assessment (SOMPA) with minority disadvantaged children in an urban school district resulted in increased numbers of African-American students (grades two through five) being eligible for gifted programing. Comparison with African-American students selected by traditional means found similar levels of…

Methods used by adults to read numerals were investigated by asking graduate students in education to read and solve mathematics problems. Eye movement studies noted reading patterns. Distinct first reading and rereading phases and two distinct methods of reading numerals were identified. (SLD)

Examines the differences between norm-referenced tests (standardized assessments of intelligence, aptitude, achievement, and personality) and criterion-referenced tests. Until school districts improve their potential to develop meaningful criterion-referenced tests, norm-referenced tests will be the major yardstick for measuring student…

To study whether different forms of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) used since the mid-1970s varied in their correlations with academic performance criteria, 1975 and 1985 forms were administered to 1,554 and 1,753 high school juniors, respectively. The 1975 form did not have greater validity than the 1985 form. (SLD)

A lawsuit involving the National Board for Respiratory Therapy illustrates that certification examinations are vulnerable to complaints of discrimination and employers' misuse of test results. The board's five-step process--position-viability study, personnel survey, job analysis, item writing/test development, and criterion-related validity…

Seventeen Canadian teachers and administrators were interviewed to determine their perspectives on reading education. Forty-two interviews were transcribed and evaluated. Preliminary analysis reveals that assessment as a social-psychological phenomenon is filled with tensions, contradictions, and dilemmas that cannot be solved simply through…

Maintains that the justification for using standardized achievement tests for children below grade three is questionable, and proposes the adoption of performance assessment that documents activities in which children engage on a daily basis. Explains the Work Sampling System, a performance assessment system that involves developmental checklists,…

Using a schooling model and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) data for 79,428 Californian students, questions raised by school comparisons based on SAT results were addressed: the role of demographic/academic characteristics in student SAT participation, and the relationship of participation rates and examinee/school demographics to SAT performance.…

Reviews major issues germane to the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) case. Discusses the second wave of Texas standards-based reform that would institutionalize retention for students failing a state-mandated achievement test, proposed federal legislation limiting use of high stakes tests, and psychometric and policy lessons learned from…

In this article, the author echoes his co-author's and colleague's pleasure (Hill, this issue) at the thoughtfulness and far-ranging nature of the comments to their initial attempts at test validation for the mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT) measures using the validity argument approach. Because of the large number of commentaries they…

In 1990 the Kentucky state legislature passed the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA), which mandated a total overhaul of the state's kindergarten through grade 12 public school system and was designed to result in equitable education for all students. Accountability components of the KERA include financial incentives for staff in schools where…

This study provides information regarding the validity of the regression model for the American College Testing Program assessment (ACT), incorporating high school course grades and ACT test scores, for predicting the first-year college grade point averages (GPAs) of ACT-tested special-needs students. The sample of special-tested students used in…

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) and Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) were used to predict achievement (measured by the Stanford Achievement Test) for 200 students with mild handicaps, in grades K through 6 in a rural western school district. Males scored significantly higher than females for every…

In recent months the idea of a single national test seems to have lost some of its momentum, while use of national standards to which voluntary regional or state tests would be indexed seems to have gained support. Nationally, there does not seem to be any organized attempt to fuse the national education goals into the state process beyond the…