The Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) is intended as a reference document for language education including assessment. This article describes a project that investigated whether the CEFR can help test developers construct reading and listening tests based on CEFR levels. If the CEFR scales together with the detailed description of…

End-of-course examinations are only as good as the assumptions used in designing them. What is a course's "essential" content? And what does it mean to master it? The end-of-course examinations developed by ACT are derived from assumptions that offer unique and challenging answers to these questions. This brief explains the process used to develop…

This publication identifies and examines existing assessment instruments in oral communication for K-12 and higher education, and abstracts and describes assessment instruments and systematically reports their availability and interest to scholars, teachers, and administrators. It also provides background research needed to develop oral…

An informal workplace literacy self-test was developed to enable employees to assess their math and reading skills and decide whether to enroll in appropriate literacy programs. The math section of the test consisted of 15 questions; the reading section consisted of 10 questions. The test was quick, confidential, self-administered, and…

This booklet presents the social studies test required for graduation in Alberta, Canada. The grade 12 diploma examination consists of multiple-choice questions (70 percent of the total mark) and written response questions (30 percent). Time for the examination is expected to be two-and-one-half hours with an additional one-half hour given to…

This booklet presents the social studies test required for graduation in Alberta, Canada. The grade 12 diploma examination consists of multiple-choice questions (70 percent of the total mark) and written response questions (30 percent). Time for the examination is expected to be two-and-one-half hours with an additional one-half hour given to…

Many testing programs include a section of optional questions in addition to mandatory parts of a test. These optional parts of a test are not often truly parallel to one another, and groups of examinees selecting each optional test section are not equivalent to one another. This paper provides a general method based on missing-data methods for…

A qualitative study investigated the test-taking behaviors, knowledge, and perceptions of 20 urban, adult basic education students reading at third to fifth grade equivalency levels. The entire reading comprehension subtest of the Test of Adult Basic Education, levels E and M, was administered under standardized conditions. A combination of…

In 1998 and again in 2002, samples of eighth grade students in California were tested in reading as part of the state-level component of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). In each of these years, all eighth graders in the state were also required to participate in the state's accountability testing, which included the reading…

This paper compares two methods of establishing content validity, forced-choice judgmental review and a latent category judgmental review. It also compares content validity evidence with the results of a scale reliability analysis and makes recommendations of the two content validity procedures. Two different groups of graduate students enrolled…

This handbook provides information for persons who are preparing to take a test for certification in the plastics industry. The nine sections of the handbook provide information on the following: (1) the mission of the Society of the Plastics Industry and the value of the National Certification in Plastics; (2) tips on preparing for the exam; (3)…

This software product makes the manipulation of the more than 3000 most commonly used words in the English language easy to select and manipulate into various activities for elementary and middle school students. Users of the program have a variety of options: the program can automatically select words based on their age/grade level, frequency of…

Distinctions were made between three classes of statistical linkage: equivalence, concordance, and prediction. These distinctions were based on rational content considerations and empirical statistical relationships. A large database involving SAT I and ACT scores was used to determine which type of linkage was best suited for different scores and…

Focuses on the appropriate use of tests to evaluate a program according to the overall goals, approaches, and specific instructional contents of that particular program. The article emphasizes that often test results are viewed as indicators of the success or failure of a program without considering whether the aims of that program and the…

Summarizes research supporting current beliefs in testing, identifies good assessment qualities, and reviews the current knowledge of test design. Standardized tests negatively affect academic program quality. Alternative assessments must be judged by their validity, reliability, consequences, fairness, generalizability, cognitive complexity,…