The feasibility of criterion referenced testing is held to be dependent on the tenability of two postulates: (1) that bias can be controlled in a principled manner from one test to the next; and (2) that one mental process measured by such tests may lawfully interact with another. Without the first postulate, criterion scores could not be…

Student assessment procedures used by the University of Mid-America/State University of Nebraska (UMA/SUN) for its first two televised courses, Introductory Psychology and Accounting I, are presented in this report. Included are descriptions of various experiments in producing test items, a report on the construction of tests from the items, and a…

Nineteen research reports and summaries of projects studying law school admission and the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) are presented. These research projects were supported by the Law School Admission Council between 1975 and 1977. A subject and an author index, covering this and the previous two volumes (including research conducted from 1949…

A synthetic performance test is a job performance test that has been degraded to some degree in the range of tasks covered or in the fidelity of stimulus/response features. Since further development is needed before synthetic performance testing is valid and efficient, this research project focused on three objectives: to (1) identify problems…

A study was commissioned by a large petrochemical concern in order to validate professional degrees as a job entry requirement. The investigations considered two issues: (1) "Are activities performed by professionals (chemists and engineers) measurably different from the activities of subordinate technical personnel?" and "What…

Traditionally, the use of control groups, regression discontinuity/projection, or norm referenced models has been advocated for educational program evaluation. The small numbers of and the heterogeneous characteristics of severely and profoundly handicapped make these evaluation methods inappropriate for this population subgroup. Furthermore, no…

During an extensive inservice program, teachers and aides in 20 kindergarten and first grade Follow Through Classrooms were observed for mastery of the Direct Instruction Model. Two trained observers used the Direct Instruction Supervisor Code to record behavior in the fall, winter, and spring. Subjects were observed while teaching a 12 minute…

The final chapter of a seven-section report that examined the assessment of occupational competence, this chapter explores the key patterns and commonalities that have emerged from the study of occupational competency assessment. The chapter begins with a synthesis of the state of the art of competency definition and measurement under four topic…

AS SHOWN IN TWO STUDIES INVOLVING U.S. NAVY ELECTRONICS TRAINEES AND IN ONE INVOLVING STUDENTS IN AN INTRODUCTORY PSYCHOLOGY COURSE, MINIATURE LEARNING SITUATIONS CAN BE USED TO PREDICT CLASSROOM PERFORMANCE. WHEN A SINGLE PROGRAM IS USED TO OBTAIN A MEASURE OF LEARNING ABILITY, THE COMBINATION OF THE RESULTING GAIN MEASURES OF LEARNING ABILITY…

THE MAJOR PROBLEM FACING EDUCATION, ACCORDING TO THIS REVIEW OF THE CONFERENCE, IS TO DEVELOP THE MOST EFFECTIVE LEARNING PROGRAMS FOR DISADVANTAGED YOUTH, WHICH SHOULD BE EVALUATED SCIENTIFICALLY. RIGOROUS STUDY IS NEEDED OF SUCH ISSUES AS (1) THE NATURE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE PROGRAM FOR THE DISADVANTAGED LEARNER, (2) THE ASSESSMENT OF THE BASIC…

CLASSES IN BASIC EDUCATION AND ENGLISH FOR FOREIGN-SPEAKING PERSONS, FUNDED BY THE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY ACT (EOA), WERE BEGUN IN JANUARY 1965 IN ADULT DAY SCHOOLS IN OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, FOR MEN AND AFDA MOTHERS, WHO TESTED AT LESS THAN 8TH-GRADE LEVEL. WELFARE PAYMENTS WERE CONTINUED AND CASH REIMBURSEMENTS AND CHILD CARE PROVIDED FOR MOTHERS.…

Strengths and weaknesses of systems for evaluating teaching in medical schools are reviewed, and a framework for dealing with issues and critical questions is presented. The model addresses the following areas: goals of the school, the purpose of evaluating teaching, standards that characterize the quality of teaching evaluation measures, measures…

This paper presents some reasons for reconsidering the use of discrete structure-point tests of language proficiency, and suggests an alternative basis for designing proficiency tests. Discrete point tests are one of the primary tools of the audio-lingual method of teaching a foreign language and are based on certain assumptions, including the…

The Cognitive Curriculum uses a nontraditional approach to language instruction. Children play an active role, learning from concrete experiences while writing and reading their own material. This type of instruction has been developed with Project Follow Through students and has been particularly successful in writing instruction. The Productive…

Research was conducted to develop and gather evidence of validity for a normative process model to be used by community adult education councils in establishing priority among community-level needs. The study design was based on a five-stage problem solving, systems model involving exploration, model building, design and development, validation,…