This guide examines the legal issues to consider in setting policy on the appropriate uses, and consequences, of student testing, and explores the controversies that have arisen in places where new polices were implemented. Chapter 1, "An Overview of Student Testing and Assessment," provides a brief overview of some of the state and…

The analysis in this article is directed to the basic issues: Are IQ tests biased against Black children? And are IQ tests valid for the placement of Black children in special programs? The research evidence on these major issues is ambiguous and contradictory. (Author/CTM)

Research and clinical findings indicate that psychologists need to be particularly aware of the variations between the cultural experience of the Native American and the Anglo child. Specific recommendations are presented concerning intellectual assessment of the Native American child. (Author/MH)

Examines methodological problems affecting assessment of bilingual children's cognitive and language development. Analysis of three qualitative instruments used to identify gifted students among Mexican American bilingual kindergartners revealed the influence of first and second language, verbal and nonverbal assessment procedures, multiple…

Reviews the literature on subgroup norming in testing and examines several types of score-adjustment methods. The authors discuss social and policy perspectives as well as the scientific and theoretical underpinnings of score adjustment. (GLR)

Focuses on score adjustment by racial or ethnic group (race norming) in employment testing, and provides a history of the original controversy. The author analyzes race-based adjustments in test scores and discusses how personnel-selection science is being compromised in an effort to reconcile contradictory legal demands. (GLR)

D. M. Stewart does not adequately portray the problems, or sufficiently assess socioeconomic and political realities with respect to African Americans today. The lack of neutrality and objectivity in standardized tests must be recognized, and alternative forms of assessment are imperative to provide equal access to education for African Americans.…

Because of the importance of standardized test scores in current definitions of educational achievement, pressure to raise test scores has affected their accuracy. Examines the causes of two major sources of test score pollution and their impact on education. Discusses the ethical status of documented test-preparation activities. (CJS)

As the idea of including limited English proficient (LEP) students in large-scale assessments is becoming popular among researchers, the practical question of how to do so meaningfully so that the needs and performances of LEP students are recognized while their scores are interpreted and used correctly becomes more important. This paper presents…

This paper addresses problems confronting law school teachers in grading law school exams and assigning letter grades. Using prototypical dialogue and scenarios, the paper examines mathematical and statistical issues that contribute to grading errors. Discussed in relation to real world data and the bar exam are: differential weighting, combining…

This paper contends that much of the time and money devoted to standardized testing in the United States is misspent. Too many tests are poorly constructed, unreliable, and unevenly administered. Multiple-choice tests cannot measure thinking skills or real problem-solving ability. In addition, many examinations are biased racially, culturally,…

Researchers and program evaluators would often like to use a particular instrument, but do not because it is too long or would require too much testing time. Having a validated set of objective procedures for reducing the size of an instrument could improve many research and evaluation efforts. This paper reports the results of test reduction or…

Detailed evidence is presented about the extent of generalization from high-stakes tests to other tests and about the instructional effects of high-stakes testing. Data are from grade 3 of a large, high-poverty urban district with large numbers of Black and Hispanic American students. The district's results in 1990 for two tests, designated Test B…

The New York State Education Department is currently developing an innovative and comprehensive system for teacher certification assessment. One component is the Assessment of Teaching Skills-Performance (ATS-P), a video-based performance assessment for which teachers would prepare and submit a videotape of their instruction for evaluation by…

The Moderation and Assessment Project, South West, was an outgrowth of the Technical and Vocational Educational Initiative of the government of the United Kingdom that attempted to develop more courses with vocational relevance for adolescents. Growing from research projects under the Moderation and Assessment project, a new model of moderation is…