All measures presently available for first, third, fifth, and sixth grade testing were evaluated according to the MEAN procedure which reflects measurement validity, examinee appropriateness, administrative usability, and normed technical excellence. Major shortcomings of these measures are presented. A factor analysis revealed four dimensions…

The stability and change of verbal, non-verbal, and total IQ scores from group tests were investigated for students tested at Grades 1, 2, 4, 7, 9, and 11. Conclusions are discussed in detail, and the following recommendations are made: (1) Group intelligence tests should not be routinely administered in Grades 1 and 2 unless the users and…

Black students from two cities and Mexican-American students, both male and female, showed small but consistent tendencies to perform better, relative to White groups, on three nontraditional measures: tests of inductive reasoning, spatial scanning, and associative memory. These measures showed somewhat less discrepancy between the groups than did…

In addition to the usual drawbacks of large enrollment college classes such as impersonal atmosphere, discouragement of questions, and insensitivity to individual differences, the testing methods that tend to be associated with large classes can be detrimental to the learning process. Objective tests decrease the level of intellectual mastery…

Rasch calibration permitted the development of short achievement tests that were economical in testing time, and could be developed in a series of difficulty levels to suit student individual differences. Furthermore, these tests were of adequate reliability for practical educational measurement when individual students were assigned to tests of…

Student test scores are increasingly used to judge the competence of the educational enterprise. Exaggeration of scores is the result of directing attention away from the individual student achievement to the average scores of schools, districts, and states. Implications and recommendations are discussed. (BJV)

Maintaining the precision necessary for administering norm referenced tests can be a problem for the special education teacher who is trained to assist the student. Criterion-referenced tests, observations, and interviews are presented as effective alternative assessment techniques. (JDD)

Discusses three studies that deal with instructional suggestions related to cross-age tutoring, the use of analogies, and some rethinking of a common testing practice--out-of-level testing for disabled readers. (FL)

Formats for testing students in art production, aesthetic perception, art criticism, and art history are discussed in terms of historical precedents, underlying philosophy, reliability, and relevance to instruction. Problems in the measurement of higher-order cognitive and affective expectations of art instruction are presented. (Author/RM)

Presents nine articles dealing with aspects of testing and the role of the school counselor. Topics include interpreting test scores, testing problems and solutions, developing tests to predict dropping out, sex bias in vocational testing, detecting bias in standardized tests, assessments of reentry adults, and interest tests for adults. (JAC)

This bibliography provides abstracts of 28 recent (most were published since 1993) books, journal articles, and other documents concerned with testing accommodations for students with disabilities. The emphasis was on studies examining the effects of testing accommodations on the technical integrity of assessment measures. However, the…

This report summarizes 48 states' current policies on the participation of students with disabilities in large-scale assessments and the accommodations noted in state policies as available for those students. In developing the summary, changes in state assessment policies were also checked. Charts in the report provide information on presentation…

Examples are provided that show readability in action in diverse settings. The first shows how readability analysis resulted in a new fluency monitoring protocol in three school districts in Northern California. The others present hypothetical school, clinic, and research situations that a speech language pathologist might encounter. (Author/CR)

Recommends including essay questions on state economics examinations to prevent misclassification of students. Briefly reviews the literature arguing that certain groups of students do poorly on multiple choice tests. Discusses California's experience with adopting a combined-format type test. (MJP)

Recent findings on differential item functioning (DIF) for minority examinees (Asian Americans, Hispanics, and Blacks) taking the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) are presented, and the standardization approach to assessing DIF is described. Item characteristics related to DIF that generalize across ethnic groups are discussed. (SLD)